Native people had thousands of years to experiment with the plants around them, and often they can.What do you know about the mint family, Lamiaceae, the sixth- or seventh-largest of the flowering plant families?80 of our trees, ferns and flowering plants are endemic (found only in New Zealand). Below are several examples of active plant ingredients that provide medicinal plant uses for humans.However, many plants used did have medical properties. Other plants produce substances that deter browsing by insects and herbivores. Some plants produce chemicals that act as herbicides to inhibit the growth of competing plants, such as the salicylic acid produced by willows.
Mint provides most of our common culinary herbs (e.g., basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, sage, thyme, summer and winter savories). Why do plants have medicinal properties Plants produce many chemicals that are biologically active, not just in themselves, but also in other organisms. The excellent biological activities of these. Many fermented foods are a rich source of nutrients, phytochemicals, bioactive compounds, and probiotic microbes. The most common and popular mints for growing are peppermint (Mentha × piperita), native spearmint (Mentha spicata), Scotch spearmint (Mentha x gracilis), and cornmint (Mentha arvensis) also (more recently) apple mint (Mentha suaveolens).Fermented plant foods are gaining wide interest worldwide as healthy foods due to their unique sensory features and their health-promoting potentials, such as antiobesity, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, and anticarcinogenic activities.
Food: The peppermints are especially good culinary mints, ideal for chopping into salads, sprinkling over fruits or combining with basil or cilantro to make mint pesto. 12 Uses for Mint LeavesThere are many safe uses for mint-family herbs besides beautifying your gardens. All summer, they produce nectar-rich blossoms, which attract bees and beneficial pollinators along with an occasional hummingbird.A favorite in my summer herb garden is the bright red bee-balm which seeds itself all over the place, makes a great cut flower, and serves as a tasty tea to boot.Many, if not most mint-family members, contain strongly aromatic oils (think lavender, rosemary, basil, thyme, and sage), which account for their many uses as seasoning, flavoring, and perfuming agents. Think salvias, agastaches, and lavenders, bee-balms, hyssop, and Russian sage. You’ll also find mints among our favorite landscaping plants.
Hair rinse: Add one part strong mint (especially rosemary) tea to one part cider vinegar for a conditioning rinse you can either leave in or rinse out. It’s a great digestive aid after dinner. Apple mint is one of my favorites with more mint flavor and less aftertaste. Just steep your fresh mint leaves in boiling water for about five minutes and serve. Tea: Why buy mint tea when it’s so easy to make? What we usually call the “mints” (peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, etc.) are traditional tea herbs. Drinks: Freeze a few trays of strong mint tea, then use the ice cubes for cooling summer drinks! Add mint leaves or cubes to mojitos, iced tea, or fresh lemonade.
Mouthwash: Chop a quarter cup of fresh mint, bee-balm, lemon balm, basil, thyme, or oregano leaves and infuse in a quart of boiling water. Strain the herbs from the mixture after a week. Store in a glass jar for a week or more, shaking occasionally. Facial astringent: Add a few finely minced leaves of fresh peppermint or other mint to a cup of witch hazel.
Breath freshener: Just chew on a few mint leaves! Sage teas and extracts have been used for centuries as a mouthwash for oral infections. To use, gently apply to the burned area with cotton pads. Ease sunburn pain: Make a strong peppermint tea and refrigerating the mixture for several hours. Add to bath water for an invigorating, stress-free soak. Mint bath. Steep a handful of mint leaves in a pint of hot water for about ten minutes, then strain.
Bug repellent: When ants come into the kitchen during the summer, place a few stems of mint, gently crushed, near suspected entry points really does deter ants. Refresh periodically to keep the scent fresh. Suspend by a string inside a garment bag, tuck into bags of stored woolen clothing, or just place in your drawers to let your clothes soak up the scent. Moth repellent/scented sachet: Tie a few branches of strongly scented mint (peppermint, sage, lavender, rosemary, bee-balm) together, or pull off a handful of leaves, and stuff them into the leg of an old nylon stocking. Scent up a space: Keep your home smelling fresh by adding a few drops of mint essential oil to your favorite unscented cleaner or just take a cotton ball and dap onto a light bulb.
Properties Of Plants Full Of Phytocompounds
Out of an abundance of caution, herbalists also urge pregnant and breastfeeding moms, as well as people with serious chronic diseases to avoid even using mint-family essential oils in massage oils.Many mint-family species contain potent phytocompounds that affect the endocrine system, sometimes dramatically. Inform your healthcare practitioner whenever you begin using an herbal remedy.Most herbalists recommend staying away from ingesting essential oils as medicines unless under the care and observation of a medical provider experienced with herbal medicines. This goes for both over-the-counter and homemade remedies.Although many have been used by traditional healers around the world for centuries, most herbs haven’t undergone rigorous testing for safety and efficacy, especially in pregnant/nursing women, children, elders, and people with chronic illnesses.Seek out as much information as you can from books, online sources, and experienced herbalists in your area. Many, perhaps most, are also being uses for human and veterinary medicine, as insecticides or insect repellents, and as antifungal or antibacterial protection for crop plants.Mints are potent plants, full of phytocompounds that plants manufacture to protect themselves against harmful bacteria, viruses, and other assaults from the environments they evolved in.Interestingly, there are studies that show spearmint is even beneficial to honeybees by cleaning out the mites that infect their hives.If herbal medicine interests you, please approach the mints, especially their essential oils, tinctures, and concentrated extracts, with care. Bees and butterflies and hover flies love mint, which is rich in nectar and pollen, and this benefits pollinated plants and crops.Credit: Anna Shepulova | Shutterstock Medicinal Use of Mint PlantsMint has been long known as an herbal remedy, easing queasy stomachs, calming stress and anxiety, and promoting restful sleep.Peppermint tea has long been viewed as an excellent way to ease an upset stomach, calming the digestive tract and alleviating indigestion, gas, and cramps.Mint has also been used for centuries in traditional medicine. Also, keep pets flea-free by stuffing a small pillow with fresh spearmint and thyme and placing near your pet’s bed.Of course, mint isn’t only used to deter bugs it also attracts the beneficial insects.
It’s mainly spearmint that gives a lot of mints a bad name. Peppermint pretty much stays put as its stolons are short and shallow. Discover Lemon BalmYou may have heard that mint takes over the garden. Among the most potent: the hallucinogenic Salvia divinorum, whose use and/or sale has been banned in many nations, as well as half of U.S. The essential oil of pennyroyal, historically used to induce menstruation or as an abortifacient, can be lethal if ingested in a large enough dose to accomplish those purposes.Some mints contain strongly psychoactive compounds.
I assumed it was a mole/vole or some such critter. Mint seed does not come true to type.See our Mint Growing Guide for more information.I just posted this comment in the article on growing mint:Years ago a golf ball sized hole popped up overnight in my parking area. Otherwise, spearmint will choke out other plants in the bed.When cold weather approaches, plants can be lifted and brought indoors in their own pots to give fresh leaves through the first part of winter.Note: It is best to grow mints from cuttings, roots, or transplants. But if you want to grow mint in a bed with other herbs or plants, consider sinking a deep bucket or tub without holes into the soil and plant into that. Or, plant mint in a container such as a terracotta pot near the kitchen window. In the ground, it’s ideal to grow spearmint in its own bed. I’ve pulled up yards and yards and yards of the ropey invaders, but they still keep coming.But if you are cultivating spearmint in your garden, just give this attractive ground cover plenty of room to spread.
It seemed to work but a similar hole appeared about six feet away. Since it was right near where I got out when I parked, I didn't want to turn my ankle or provide an open invitation for additional holes so I decided to pour some used kitty litter (no poops included) down the hole and covered it over again. That worked for a day or two and then it reappeared.
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