Tutorial
On the left side you find an image of a specimen.
On the right side you will be asked for information you can find on the main label of the specimen.
The fields requested initially are simple.
Registered users are promoted as they accumulate validated answers.
High levels are asked for fields considered more difficult to interpret.
The mint Family
The mint family includes aromatic plants widely used since ancient times. Many are used in the kitchen, others are ornamentals, and some are used in cosmetics and as medicines, the most common being basil, hyssop, lavender, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme. The sweet aromatic smell is due to essential oils in glandular hairs present in most parts of the plant, but mainly the leaves.
The family is easy to identify by a combination of characters, stems usually square in section, leaves opposite, flowers usually arranged in compact axillary cymes (verticillasters), calyces persistent with 5 teeth, corolla tubular and typically 2-lipped (bilabiate), fruits are composed of 4 nutlets, enclosed within a persistent calyx.
Lamiaceae comprise over 7000 species, making it the sixth largest angiosperm family. It is mostly common in the Mediterranean region and SW Asia.