Effect:
stimulating, analgesic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, choleretic, diaphoretic, emetic, cooling, stimulating, stomachic, tonic, vasodilator
Areas of use:
motion sickness, feverish colds, acne, impure and tired skin, fever, headaches, indigestion, sore throats, ulcers, bad breath
Parts of the plant used:
leaves
Collection time:
June to August
Can be found:
On banks and ditches, in wet and moorland meadows, in marsh forests and in willow bushes.
Ingredients:
essential oils
Other:
Water mint is a perennial plant and can grow between 10 and 150 cm tall. Runners are formed underground on land and above ground in water. The upright stem is usually branched and square. The leaves, which are arranged opposite each other on the stem, are divided into a petiole and leaf blade. The simple leaf blade is ovate-elliptical, somewhat coarse and often shiny, with a serrated leaf edge. There are four to six pairs of curved pinnate veins. The leaves in particular smell of peppermint when crushed. The flowers are densely packed in the axils of the upper leaves in upright, loosely arranged pseudowhorls and in a terminal, spherical, capitate partial inflorescence. The flowers are zygomorphic and five-petaled with a double perianth. The five only slightly unequal sepals are partially fused to form a tube with 13 veins and five lanceolate calyx teeth. The five light violet, pink, fleshy pink to white petals are fused to varying degrees and only slightly two-lipped. The upper lip is usually as large as one of the three lobes of the lower lip. This makes the flower appear almost regularly four-lobed.
🛑 Although there are no known cases of toxicity with this species, large quantities of some members of this genus, especially in the form of the extracted essential oil, can cause miscarriages. Therefore, caution is advised.
In the kitchen, the flowers and leaves can be eaten as a vegetable and raw in salads.
Water mint was one of the sacred herbs of the Druids and was valued in many cultures as a magical and medicinal herb.
However, you should avoid it if you are looking for more grounding and rooting, otherwise it will literally "take your feet out from under you".
As an incense plant, it refreshes, renews and energizes the body and mind and helps to clear the mind.
In aromatherapy, its intense scent is valued.
In shampoos, it is particularly recommended for oily hair.