Photographs: the Gearagh, Co. Cork

Spear Mint / Garden Mint Mentha spicata Cartlainn gharraí Family: Lamiaceae Flowering time: July-October. Perennial. Introduced. Dense terminal spikes of pinky-mauve flowers with the stamens protruding. Leaves are lanceolate or narrowly ovate and more/less un-stalked. A strongly aromatic, more or less hairless plant spreading by underground rhizomes. Height to 90cm. An occasional garden escape on damp or wet ground, roadsides and waste ground, usually near habitation.

Spear Mint, Mentha spicata, Cartlainn gharraí