Mentha arvensis
Tracheophyta
›Magnoliopsida›Lamiaceae›Mentha›Mentha arvensis
Ecology
A rhizomatous perennial, rarely annual, herb of arable fields, woodland rides, marshy pastures and waste places; overlapping in habitat with M. aquatica but typically replacing it in drier habitats or where water levels fluctuate markedly. 0?390 m (Drumore Loch, E. Perth).
Status
Native
Trends
M. arvensis was mapped as `all records` in the 1962 Atlas. Analysis of the database reveals that a substantial decline has occurred since 1950. It has declined as a weed of cultivated land, and this may partly account for the significant loss from the English Midlands northwards. Some early records may refer to M. x verticillata.
World Distribution
Circumpolar Boreo-temperate element; widely naturalised outside its native range.
© Shannon, P
vc29, Upware
© Shannon, P
Broad Habitats
Light (Ellenberg): 6
Moisture (Ellenberg): 7
Reaction (Ellenberg): 7
Nitrogen (Ellenberg): 6
Salt Tolerance (Ellenberg): 0
January Mean Temperature (Celsius): 3.6
July Mean Temperature (Celsius): 14.9
Annual Precipitation (mm): 1017
Height (cm): 60
Perennation - primary
Perennial
Life Form - primary
Hemicryptophyte
Woodiness
Herbaceous
Clonality - primary
Rhizome far-creeping
Count of 10km squares in Great Britain: 1965
Count of 10km squares in Ireland: 428
Count of 10km squares in the Channel Isles: 5
Atlas Change Index: -1.3
Weighted Changed Factor: -26
Weighted Change Factor Confidence (90%)
23
JNCC Designations
NBNSYS0000004195