Calamint

November 29th, 2007

Botanical Name: Calamintha officinalis (MOENCH)
Family: N.O. Labiatae

Synonyms: Mill Mountain. Mountain Balm. Basil Thyme. Mountain Mint.
Part Used: Whole plant, leaves.
Habitat: Primarily a weed of pastures, fields, and noncrop areas found from Maryland south to South Carolina and also in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas.

Description: Calamint belongs to a genus closely related to both the Thymes and to Catnep and Ground Ivy.

A perennial herb with showy flowers and a distinctive minty odor.

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Leaves: Ovate in outline with the apex usually sharp-pointed (acute). The lower leaf margins are toothed along both edges. Lower leaves are Â½ to 1 inch long, the upper leaves become progressively smaller up the stem. All leaves are arranged oppositely along the stem.
Stems: Stout, branched, and hairy.

Flowers: Individual flowers are about 4 mm long and light purple and/or white in color.

It is an erect, bushy plant with square stems, rarely more than a foot high, bearing pairs of opposite leaves, which, like the stems, are downy with soft hairs. The flowers bloom in July and August, and are somewhat inconspicuous, drooping gracefully before expansion: the corollas are of a light purple colour.

The plant grows by waysides and in hedges, and is not uncommon, especially in dry places. It may be cultivated as a hardy perennial, propagated by seeds sown outdoors in April, by cuttings of side shoots in cold frames in spring, or by division of roots in October and April.

This small, erect, aromatic, slightly hairy, bushy plant grows from a creeping rootstock to about 1 foot tall with tiny white flowers having a faint mauve tone. Can be found growing on banks and mountain slopes throughout Europe and North Africa. Leaves are small, ovate and serrate; flowers appear in forked cymes in summer, the lower lip of the corolla being lobed and covered with purple spots. Its name is derived from the Greek ‘kalos’ meaning beautiful, and ‘minthe’ meaning mint. Today it is grown mainly as an ornamental and for its aromatic foliage. In action, it is similar to Lesser Calamint (C. nepeta) but not as strong.

PROPAGATION: By SEED in spring and autumn; by SOFTWOOD CUTTINGS in early summer; HALF-RIPE wood with a heel attached taken in August is best, to be followed by rooting in sandy compost; by ROOT DIVISION in spring. Plant 10 inches apart.
NEEDS: Well-drained to dry, neutral to alkaline soil in sun. Makes a nice edging for an herb garden.

HARVEST: LEAVES in summer which are used fresh or dried; PLANT while in flower.
Identifying Characteristics: The distinctive minty smell and showy flowers help to distinguish this plant from most other weeds.

Constituents: It contains a camphoraceous, volatile, stimulating oil in commonwith the other mints. This is distilled by water, but its virtues are better extracted by rectified spirit.

Medicinal Actions and Uses: Diaphoretic, expectorant, aromatic. The whole herb has a sweet, aromatic odour and an infusion of the dried leaves, collected about July, when in their best condition and dried in the same way as Catmint tops, makes a pleasant cordial tea, which was formerly much taken for weaknesses of the stomach and flatulent colic. It is useful in hysterical complaints, and a conserve made of the young fresh tops has been used, for this purpose.

Culpepper says that it ‘is very efficacious in all afflictions of the brain,’ that it ‘relieves convulsions and cramps, shortness of breath or choleric pains in the stomach or bowels,’ and that ‘it cures the yellow jaundice.’ He also recommends it, taken with salt and honey, for killing worms:
‘It relieves those who have the leprosy, taken inwardly, drinking whey after it, or the green herb outwardly applied, and that it taketh away black and blue marks in the face, and maketh black scars become well coloured, if the green herb (not the dry) be boiled in wine and laid to the place or the place washed therewith.’
He also considers it ‘helpful to them that have a tertian ague,’ and beneficial in all disorders of the gall and spleen.
Gerard says, ‘the seede cureth the infirmities of the hart, taketh away sorrowfulnesse which commeth of melancholie, and maketh a man merrie and glad.’

The LESSER CALAMINT (Calamintha nepeta) is a variety of the herb possessing almost superior virtues, with a stronger odour, resembling that of Pennyroyal, and a moderately pungent taste somewhat like Spearmint, but warmer. It is scarcely distinct from C. officinalis, and by some botanists is considered a sub-species. The leaves are more strongly toothed, and it bears its flowers on longer stalks. Both this and the Common Calamint seem to have been used indifferently in the old practice of medicine under the name of Calamint.

The name of the genus, Calamintha, is derived from the Greek Kalos (excellent because of the ancient belief in its power to drive away serpents and the dreaded basilisk - the fabled king of the serpents, whose very glance was fatal.

Expectorant, diaphoretic.:
An infusion of the stems in boiling water with a few drops of lemon juice added was once used to relieve flatulence, indigestion, shortness of breath, cramps, liver and spleen problems; also to lift spirits or melancholic states. Also, a straight infusion has been used for amenorrhea.
Was once combined with salt to expel worms and to use as a contraceptive.
Has been used to treat ashtma, bronchitis and bruises.
The oil has been used for toothache.
CULINARY:
Used to flavor wild game and other meats.

Click to learn about :

1.BASIL, BUSH , 2.BASIL, SWEET , 3.BASIL, WILD ,4.THYME, BASIL

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider

Resources:
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/calami06.html
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/catnn.htm
http://earthnotes.tripod.com/calamint.htm