Taxonomy: Fam. Lamiaceae// Genus: Mentha// Species: Mentha spicata L.// Subspecies: Mentha spicata subsp. condensata (Briq.) Greuter & Burdet.
Determined according to the botanical keys by Harley in Tutin et al., 1972 (to species level) and Kostadinovski in Matevski, 2021 (to subspecies level).
Species variability: Two subspecies of Mentha spicata L. occur in the Osogovo region: Mentha spicata L. subsp. spicata and Mentha spicata subsp. condensata (Briq.) Greuter & Burdet. Distinction between subspecies:
subsp. spicata: plant completely glabrous, leaves with serrate margin, not undulate; verticillasters more or less crowded, inflorescence c. 3 to 7 cm long. Very common in cultivation as an aromatic garden plant, found locally as a garden escape.
subsp. condensata: plant hairy, with simple and branched hairs; leaves serrate, more or less undulate; at least the lower verticillasters distanced in fruit, inflorescence longer that in subsp. spicata. Usually not cultivated, common in the wild.
Lifeform: Perennial, hemicryptophyte according to the Raunkiaer system.
Distribution: Native to the Mediterranean region – Italy and Balkan Peninsula to Egypt according to the distribution information provided by the Plants of the World Online portal (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).
Habitat: Near rivers and other moist places, disturbed ground, roadsides, ruderal areas.
Flowering period: Summer – fall: AUG, SEP, OCT.
References:
Mentha L. Harley, R. M. in Tutin, T.G., Heywood, V.H., Burges, N.A., Moore, D.M., Valentine, D.H., Walters, S.M. & Webb, D.A. (1972). Flora Europaea. Volume 3: Diapensiaceae to Myoporaceae. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 183-186.
Mentha L. Kostadinovski, M. in Matevski, V. The Flora of the RN Macedonia. Vol II, Book 2. Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, pp. 391 – 397.
Mentha spicata subsp. condensata (Briq.) Greuter & Burdet. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:924345-1 [Accessed 04.10.2024].