Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
Flowers: July to September. Height: 60cm (24in).
Used as a strewing plant.
Medicinal: Used for stomach problems, as an appetite stimulant, to improve mental powers and for Paget’s Disease (pain, soft bones, fractures, swollen skull). Culpeper’s Complete Herbal (1653) advised that it was “useful in all disorders of the stomach, as weakness, squeamishness, loss of appetite, pain and vomiting”.
Culinary: A herbal tea and added to desserts and iced drinks.
