Editing Spearmint (section)

==Description==
[[File:Spearmint in Bangladesh 03.jpg|thumb|Spearmint in Bangladesh]]
Spearmint is a [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[herbaceous plant]]. It is {{cvt|30|–|100|cm|in}} tall, with variably hairless to hairy stems and foliage, and a wide-spreading fleshy underground [[rhizome]] from which it grows. The [[leaves]] are {{cvt|5|–|9|cm|in|frac=4}} long and {{cvt|1.5|–|3|cm|in|frac=4}} broad, with a serrated margin. The stem is square-shaped, a defining characteristic of the mint family of [[herbs]]. Spearmint produces [[flower]]s in slender spikes, each flower pink or white in colour, {{cvt|2.5|–|3|mm|in}} long and broad.<ref name=w/><ref name=rhs>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan {{ISBN|0-333-47494-5}}.{{page needed|date=February 2013}}</ref> Spearmint flowers in the summer (from July to September in the northern hemisphere),<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last1=Vokou|first1=D.|last2=Kokkini|first2=S.|date=1989-04-01|title=''Mentha spicata'' (Lamiaceae) chemotypes growing wild in Greece|journal=Economic Botany|language=en|volume=43|issue=2|pages=192–202|doi=10.1007/BF02859860|s2cid=32109061|issn=1874-9364}}</ref> and has relatively large seeds, which measure {{cvt|0.62|-|0.90|mm}}.<ref name=":02" /> The name <nowiki>''spear''</nowiki> mint derives from the pointed leaf tips.<ref name=turner>[[William Turner (ornithologist)|Turner, W.]] (1568). ''Herbal''. Cited in the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''.</ref>

''Mentha spicata'' varies considerably in leaf blade dimensions, the prominence of leaf veins, and pubescence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/mentha/spicata/|title=''Mentha spicata'' (spearmint): Go Botany|website=gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org|access-date=2018-12-10|archive-date=2019-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518072049/https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/mentha/spicata/|url-status=live}}</ref>