🌾 My Peppermint Patch! CHECK IT OUT!! 🌾

pepper taster heirloom reviews channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA0u0AcWmi9HZQ98CK2RMWg heirloom reviews backup channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz_y6cWarmwweK7jE2s8lRw http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ my peppermint patch! check it out!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppermint Peppermint (Mentha × piperita, also known as M. balsamea Willd.[1]) is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint.[2] The plant, indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, is now widespread in cultivation in many regions of the world.[3] It is found wild occasionally with its parent species Peppermint was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus from specimens that had been collected in England; he treated it as a species,[5] but it is now universally agreed to be a hybrid.[6] It is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial plant growing to 30–90 cm (12–35 in) tall, with smooth stems, square in cross section. The rhizomes are wide-spreading, fleshy, and bare fibrous roots. The leaves are from 4–9 cm (1.6–3.5 in) long and 1.5–4 cm (0.59–1.57 in) broad, dark green with reddish veins, and with an acute apex and coarsely toothed margins. The leaves and stems are usually slightly fuzzy. The flowers are purple, 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long, with a four-lobed corolla about 5 mm (0.20 in) diameter; they are produced in whorls (verticillasters) around the stem, forming thick, blunt spikes. Flowering is from mid to late summer. The chromosome number is variable, with 2n counts of 66, 72, 84, and 120 recorded.[7][8][9] Peppermint is a fast-growing plant; once it sprouts, it spreads very quickly. Peppermint typically occurs in moist habitats, including stream sides and drainage ditches. Being a hybrid, it is usually sterile, producing no seeds and reproducing only vegetatively, spreading by its rhizomes. If placed, it can grow anywhere, with a few exceptions.[4][9] Outside of its native range, areas where peppermint was formerly grown for oil often have an abundance of feral plants, and it is considered invasive in Australia, the Galápagos Islands, New Zealand,[10] and in the United States[11] in the Great Lakes region, noted since 1843.[12] Peppermint generally grows best in moist, shaded locations, and expands by underground rhizomes. Young shoots are taken from old stocks and dibbled into the ground about 1.5 feet apart. They grow quickly and cover the ground with runners if it is permanently moist. For the home gardener, it is often grown in containers to restrict rapid spreading. It grows best with a good supply of water, without being water-logged, and planted in areas with part-sun to shade. The leaves and flowering tops are used; they are collected as soon as the flowers begin to open and can be dried. The wild form of the plant is less suitable for this purpose, with cultivated plants having been selected for more and better oil content. They may be allowed to lie and wilt a little before distillation, or they may be taken directly to the still. Chemical constituents Peppermint has a high menthol content. The oil also contains menthone and carboxyl esters, particularly menthyl acetate.[13] Dried peppermint typically has 0.3–0.4% of volatile oil containing menthol (7–48%), menthone (20–46%), menthyl acetate (3–10%), menthofuran (1–17%) and 1,8-cineol (3–6%). Peppermint oil also contains small amounts of many additional compounds including limonene, pulegone, caryophyllene and pinene.[14] According to a document issued by the South African Department of Agriculture, the Roman author Pliny in his Natural History tells us that the Greeks and Romans crowned themselves with peppermint at their feasts and adorned their tables with its sprays, and that their cooks flavoured both their sauces and their wines with its essence.[15] However, there is no evidence that peppermint in the strict sense (Mentha x piperita) existed in Pliny's day (or at any time before it was hybridised in the London area shortly before the eighteenth century): in scholarly translations the Latin word he used is translated as "mint", not "peppermint".[16] Nor can a reference be found in Pliny to persons crowning themselves with mint at their feasts. Peppermint is the oldest and most popular flavour of mint flavoured confectionery[citation needed] and is often used in tea and for flavouring ice cream, confectionery, chewing gum, and toothpaste. Peppermint can also be found in some shampoos, soaps and skin care products. Menthol activates cold-sensitive TRPM8 receptors in the skin and mucosal tissues, and is the primary source of the cooling sensation that follows the topical application of peppermint oil.[17] Peppermint flowers are large nectar producers and honey bees, as well as other nectar harvesting organisms, forage them heavily. A mild, pleasant varietal honey can be produced if there is a sufficient area of plants. Peppermint oil