Wood calamint Calamintha menthifolia / Clinopodium menthifolium

Features

The plant is strongly aromatic, the leaves are used for tea preparations, as a spice or cooked in dishes. It is also used in medicine.

Species	Perrenial
Living space	Treeline
Size	30-80 cm

Description

Clinopodium menthifolium subsp. menthifolium is a tufted, hairy, mint-scented perennial herb with an upright habit and few branches. It grows to a height of around 60 cm. The leaves are dark green, stalked and grow in opposite pairs. The leaf blades are ovate with rounded teeth and are larger than those C. menthifolium subsp. ascendens. The lipped flowers are also larger and darker, with the corolla lobe at least twice as long as the hairy calyx. Clinopodium menthifolium subsp. ascendens grows to about 30–60 millimetres in height. This perennial rhizomatous herbaceous hemicryptophyte plant has stalked leaves and an erect hairy stem with tall flowering spikes. It produces pinkish or bluish flowers with spots on the white lower lip. They bloom from July to September.