Mint makes a good ground cover in some of my gardens.

Notice the crinkled appearance of the leaves, and the square cross section of the stem. The square stem is characteristic of the mint family.

This is a stolon, a stem that grows horizontally on or under the surface of  the soil. See how it put out roots at the nodes. It also produces upward shoots from some nodes. When the stolon is broken, or part of it dies, the shoots become independent plants (clones of the plant the stolon started from). This is a form of asexual reproduction.

Here is a spike of mint flowers, they are really a very pale lavender color, but in photos they appear white.

Crushing a mint leaf by folding and rubbing between thumb and fore finger releases the pleasant smell. Sniff, and relax. After washing it, chewing a leaf provides flavorful pleasure.

This orange mint moth(Pyrausta orphisalis) is considered a pest by commercial mint farmers. But I think it is pretty enough to be worth sacrificing a little of my ground cover. The moth rates a page of its own under insects.

  [Classification, Taxonomy]

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