In more than one periodical the botanical name of this plant has been
given as Mentha arvensis, var. purpurascens. It will be well,
therefore, to point out that this is an error before the statement is
further copied and the mistake perpetuated. The plant has green
foliage, with not a trace of purple, and less deserves the name
purpurascens than the true peppermint (Mentha piperita), of which a
purplish leaved form is well known. The mistake probably arose in the
first place in a printer's error. The history is as follows:
For some years past a large quantity of a substance called menthol has
been imported into this country, and extensively used as a topical
application for the relief of neuralgia, and in some instances as an
antiseptic. This substance in appearance closely resembles Epsom
salts, and consists of crystals deposited in the oil of peppermint
distilled from the Japanese peppermint plant. This oil, when separated
from the crystals, is now largely used to flavor cheap peppermint
lozenges, being less expensive than the English oil. The crystals
deposit naturally in the oil upon keeping, but the Japanese extract
the whole of it by submitting the oil several times in succession to a
low temperature, when all the menthol crystallizes out from the oil
and falls to the bottom of the vessel. The source of the Japanese
peppermint oil has been stated to be Mentha arvensis, var. javanica.
On examining several specimens of this plant in our national herbaria
I found that the leaves tasted like those of the common garden mint
(Mentha viridis), and not at all like peppermint, and that therefore
the oil and menthol could not possibly be derived from this plant.
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