# Canada mint

*Mentha canadensis*

It is the only mint species native to North America, and its essential oils contain high levels of menthol, used historically to soothe ailments.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Lamiales › Lamiaceae › Mentha
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** wetland
- **Habitat:** Wet meadows, stream banks, lake shores, marshes, and damp forest openings.
- **Diet:** Autotrophic (photosynthesis, drawing nutrients and water from damp, organic soils).
- **Range:** North America, East Asia
- **Size:** 10 to 80 cm tall
- **Lifespan:** Perennial (stems die back annually, but underground rhizomes can survive for decades).
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Wetland drainage, habitat destruction, and displacement by invasive species like reed canary grass.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and highly aromatic. Safe to touch and smell. If foraging, ensure positive identification to avoid toxic lookalikes like water hemlock that sometimes share the same damp habitats.

## About

Mentha canadensis (syn. M. arvensis var. canadensis ) is a species of mint commonly known as American wild mint , native to North America (from Northwest Territories to central Mexico), or known as bakha , East Asian wild mint , or Japanese Mint ( M. arvensis var. piperascens ) in eastern Asia (Siberia to Java) and the Northern Territory of Australia. The flowers are bluish or a slight violet tint. The plant is upright about 4 inches (10 cm) to 18 inches (46 cm)...

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/d7c1ec1c-199e-40a4-a779-1e8bd753ce6d
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/77991
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentha canadensis
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/423151349/medium.jpeg (elik03, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.