mint

Mentha ×carinthiaca Host

In the treatment followed here, Carinthian mint is a perennial hybrid combining field mint, Mentha arvensis, with apple mint, M. suaveolens. Kew records it as a European plant of temperate climates. Kew Plants of the World Online: Mentha ×carinthiaca

Botanical name

This profile adopts Kew’s placement of Mentha ×muelleriana F.W.Schultz under M. ×carinthiaca Host, the M. arvensis × M. suaveolens hybrid. GRIN instead places ×muelleriana under ×gracilis. Kew Plants of the World Online: Mentha ×carinthiaca USDA GRIN: Mentha ×muelleriana

Recognizing the plant

The German federal flora describes plants about 20–80 centimetres tall, resembling field mint but generally larger. Their rounded leaves have deeper, sharper teeth and conspicuous veins beneath. Simple, curled and forked hairs occur on the plant. Flowers arise in the leaf axils. Their stalks are usually hairless, while the calyx is hairy down to its base and ends in lance-shaped teeth. The scent is faintly spearmint-like, and the treatment describes the plants as sterile. The inside of the corolla is hairless or bears only a few hairs. German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, FloraWeb: Mentha carinthiaca

Bloom window

Germany

FloraWeb records flowering in Germany from July through September. German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, FloraWeb: Mentha carinthiaca

Native range

Kew lists native occurrences in France, Germany, Hungary and Spain. FloraWeb also treats the hybrid as indigenous in Germany, where it is recorded in the federal botanical atlas. Kew Plants of the World Online: Mentha ×carinthiaca German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, FloraWeb: Mentha carinthiaca

Botanical sources

Reviewed 2026-10-11. Seasonal development varies with location and growing conditions.