I then asked my friend, Mr. T. Christy, who takes great interest in
medicinal plants, to endeavor to get specimens from Japan of the plant
yielding the oil. After many vain attempts, he at last succeeded in
obtaining live plants. These were cultivated in his garden at Malvern
House, Sydenham, and when they flowered I examined the plant and found
that it differed from other forms of M. arvensis in the taste, in the
acuminate segments of the calyx of the flower, and in the longer leaf
stalks; the leaves also taper more toward the base. Dr. Franchet, the
greatest living authority on Japanese plants, to whom I sent
specimens, confirmed my opinion as to the variety deserving a special
name, and M. Malinvaud, a well known authority on mints, suggested the
name piperascens, which I adopted, calling the plant Mentha arvensis,
var. piperascens. Specimens of the plant kindly lent by Mr. Christy
for the purpose were exhibited by me at an evening meeting of the
Linnaean Society, and by a printer's error in the report of the remarks
then made, the name of the plant appeared in print as Mentha arvensis,
var. purpurascens.
I trust that the present note, through the medium of _The Garden_,
will prevent the perpetuation of this error. This is the more
important, as I hope that the plant will come into cultivation in this
country. It is a robust plant of rapid growth, as easily cultivated as
the English peppermint, and seems to require less moisture, and is
therefore capable of cultivation in a great variety of localities.
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