Home           Nature's Herbal      Plants Index          

Cornmint
mentha arvensis

Other Names: American Wild Mint, Wild Mint, Field Mint, Japanese Mint, North American Field Mint, Brook Mint, Golden Apple Mint.

Habitat: Native perennial to North America, now widely spread throughout the world. Found growing in woodlands, cultivated beds, sunny edge, shady Edge, damp edges of woods. Cultivation is easy, it prefers moist soils and partial shade. Division can be easily carried out at almost any time of the year, it is fast spreading. The flowers are very attractive to bees and butterflies. A good companion plant for growing near brassicas and tomatoes, for helping to deter insect pests. The whole plant is light green and hairy. Growing from creeping rootstocks. The stems are square, erect and 6-24 inches high. The serrate leaves grow in opposite pairs along the stem. Lance-shaped to oval, the leaves are pointed, smooth or hairy, and have toothed margins. The flower are tiny, white, pale pink, or lavender, bell-shaped and are numerous in whorls around the leaf axils of the upper leaves from July to August. The whole plant is harvested as the plant comes into flower and can be dried for later use.

Properties: Cornmint is edible raw or cooked and makes a very pleasant tea. It is used as a medicinal herb for the treatment of fevers, headaches, digestive disorders and various minor ailments. Cornmint is anesthetic, antiphlogistic, antispasmodic, antiseptic, aromatic, carminative, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, galactofuge, refrigerant, stimulant and stomachic. The plant is used as an insect repellent. The plants main constituents are monoterpenes (menthone, menthofuran, menthyl acetate, cineole and limonene; sesquiterpenes (viridoflorol); flavonoids (luteolin, menthoside, isorhoifolin, rutin, hesperidin); phenolic acids (caffeic, chlorogenic and rosmarinic); triterpenes (squalene, a-amyrin, ursolic acid, sitosterol); flavonoids; phytol; tocopherols; carotenoids; choline; betaine; azulenes; rosmarinic acid; tannin; minerals. Cornmint is being studied for the treatment of stomach cancer.

CLICK HERE TO FIND MANY HERBAL PRODUCTS!