Re: horsemint

>Has any one heard of a plant called horsemint?  A friend who lives 
>several hundred miles east of me asked if I could get some for her in my 
>area as we have so many nice plant nurseries.  She only knows it as 
>horsemint, says it is fairly tall with lovely blue-purple floweres that 
>dry nicely in her herb wreathes.  If anyone knows the latin name or a 
>differenc common name that might help me locate it.


Yes - it's Mentha longifolia and is a wild plant in some parts of the UK. It likes to grow in damp places, I don't know any other common names - it is not the same as the other wild mints in the UK (corn mint - M arvensis or water mint - M aquatica)
It looks similar to spearmint (M spicata) but grows a bit taller with longer flower spikes and the undersides of the leaves are silvery in colour giving a paler green effect. It is also one of the most vigourous so be careful where it is planted!
I haven't ever tried drying the flowers from mine - but I'm going to try this year as it sounds good!
HTH
Alison (in North Wales UK)
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