Calamint

Clinopodium menthifolium (woodland calamint; syn. Calamintha menthifolia, C. sylvatica) is an aromatic perennial herb of the family Lamiaceae, growing 30–80 cm tall from a creeping rootstock, with erect, branching, softly hairy, square stems. The opposite leaves are ovate, shallowly toothed, mint-scented when crushed, and borne on short stalks. From summer into autumn it produces small, two-lipped flowers in loose axillary clusters (cymes); the corolla is pale lilac to pinkish-purple, often spotted on the lower lip, subtended by a tubular, hairy calyx. The whole plant releases a strong minty, thyme-like fragrance owing to its essential-oil content. It is native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, where it grows in open woodland, woodland margins, scrub, hedgerows, dry banks, and rocky calcareous slopes, generally in warm, well-drained situations.