Weeds of Australia - Fact Sheet

Top Scientific Name Synonyms Family Common Names Origin Naturalised Distribution Notes

Scientific Name

Mentha x piperita L.

Two varieties are naturalised in Australia:
bergamot mint - Mentha x piperita L. var. citrata (Ehrh.) Briq.
peppermint - Mentha x piperita L. var. piperita

Synonyms

For Mentha x piperita:

Mentha piperita L.

For Mentha x piperita var. piperita:

Mentha piperita L. var. piperita

For Mentha x piperita var. citrata:

Mentha citrata Ehrh.
Mentha piperita L. var. citrata (Ehrh.) Briq.

 

Family

Labiatae (South Australia)
Lamiaceae (Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory)

Common Names

For Mentha x piperita var. piperita:

brandy mint, common mint, peppermint, white peppermint

For Mentha x piperita var. citrata:

bergamot mint, geranium mint, lemon mint, eau de Cologne, eau de Cologne mint, eau-de-Cologne mint

Origin

A hybrid between water mint (Mentha aquatica) and spearmint (Mentha spicata) that occurs naturally in central and western Europe.

Naturalised Distribution

Herbaria in some states (i.e. New South Wales and Tasmania) do not differentiate between the two forms and so they are treated together here as Mentha x piperita. Both forms are widely naturalised in southern Australia, though peppermint (Mentha x piperita var. piperita) is more common and widespread.

Mentha x piperita is naturalised in eastern New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia and the coastal districts of south-western Western Australia. It is also naturalised on Norfolk Island.

Notes

Peppermint and/or bergamot mint (Mentha x piperita) are regarded as environmental weeds in Victoria and Western Australia and are also seen as "sleeper weeds" in other parts of southern Australia. These plants have escaped cultivation and become naturalised in swamps, wetlands, riparian vegetation and damp sclerophyll forest in southern Australia.

They have also been recorded in conservation areas in Victoria (i.e. Morwell National Park), the ACT (i.e. Jerrabomberra Wetlands Nature Reserve) and South Australia (i.e. Brownhill Creek Recreation Park, Scott Creek Conservation Park, Cudlee Creek Conservation Park and Honan Native Forest Reserve).