peppermint

[Rameez]

Assalamoalaikum,
Is peppermint available in Pakistan? If yes what is it called locally.
Since peppermint is a sterile hybrid, it is not possible to grow it from seeds, is there a way to get the cuttings.

Thanks,
Rameez.

[M Farooq]

If you are referring to the ordinary peppermint, it is called pau-dina in Urdu. It is available at every nook and corner of the country. You can simply place the stems in the soil from any vegetable market and it will grow quickly.

Are you referring to this plant? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppermint

That is exactly it!

[Muhammad Bilal]

are u talking about spearmint??

[Rameez]

Thanks for the reply guys, yes I am talking about this: peppermint -> http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppermint

The thing is that I am bit confused, I have atleast three kinds of mint growing at my home, each having a distinct fragrance and taste, of of them is the ordinary desi one with slightly smaller leaves and stronger smell.
I am just trying to identify which one of these is peppermint if any.
The podina you get from the market also comes in two or three different varieties so I am a bit confused.
I will upload imagez and may be that will make things more clear

Rameez.

[Rameez]

[newton]

There are reputed to be around 600 varieties of mint in existence and of those around 15 are commonly cultivated for garden usage, good luck with your quest to identify them. Usually the scent, leaf pattern, shape and size, as well as plant height and the flowers/roots can help you to identify the variety you have

[M Farooq]

Rameez, I guess only a trained taxonomist can distinguish the various varieties of the mint you have shown. It would be interesting to know the names though. In a strict sense, only six species of Mentha belong to Pakistan. You can do little bit of more image comparison with the six names (in the link) and share your observations with us.

The following link is most authentic compendium of Pakistani flora so far, made by Pakistani botanists, but botanical language is beyond my scope of complete understanding. It is a big shame that Pakistani govt. and its academia has no interest in it and it is hosted by Missouri Botanical Gardens in the US.

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx? ... _id=120248

[Rameez]

Ok, thanks for trying. All I am interested is to know if we use peppermint or not, it is frustrating and sad that we donot even exactly know the species of plants we use as food.
I guess I will wait a bit for the weather to change and wait for the plants to grow a bit then take fresh big leaves and compare them with the species mentioned in the link.

[Rameez]

One more thing, what season does a mint plant bloom.
I have not really seen flowers on my mint plants. Can it be because of lack of nutrients?

[M Farooq]

One more thing, what season does a mint plant bloom.
I have not really seen flowers on my mint plants. Can it be because of lack of nutrients?

Ok, thanks for trying. All I am interested is to know if we use peppermint or not, it is frustrating and sad that we do not even exactly know the species of plants we use as food.
I guess I will wait a bit for the weather to change and wait for the plants to grow a bit then take fresh big leaves and compare them with the species mentioned in the link.

Mint blooms when it gets mature and full sunlight in the summer. Don't worry about nutrients, simply feed it with manure, regular watering esp. during summer and full sunlight. How are you growing it? I am afraid that peppermint is not a single plant, but closely related plants which yield the essential mint oil are termed as peppermint.
You can also post (better) pictures in another forum called UBC Botanical Garden Forums in the plants identification section.