Mentha longifolia var. asiatica

Asian Mint is a perennial herb with stems erect, 1-4 ft, few branched, densely minutely woolly. Leaves are oblong or elliptic to oblong-lanceshaped, 3-8 x 1-2.5 cm, sometimes folded and curved downward, sometimes glaucous, appressed crisped minutely woolly, glandular, base rounded to broadly wedge-shaped, margin remotely unequal toothed, tip pointed. Flowers are borne in distant whorls at branch-ends, forming cylindric spikes 3-8 x 1-1.4 cm. Bracts are linear to subulate, 5-7 mm; bracteoles subulate, nearly as long as sepal-cup. Flower-stalks about 1 mm. Sepal-cup ą purple-red, bell-shaped to funnel-shaped, 1.5-2 mm, teeth linear, close together in fruit. Flowers are purple-red, 4-5 mm, hairy, tube gradually dilated, petals about 1 mm; upper petal oblong-ovate, about 2 x 1.5 mm, tip notched. Asian Mint is native to Afghanistan, China South-Central, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Xinjiang. Flowering: July-August.