Water mint
There are many types of wild mint, which are constantly crossbreeding with one another. It's not always easy to tell them apart, but they're all edible and tasty. Water mint is one variety.
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Where to Find It
You can find water mint all over Denmark. It thrives in very moist soil, so look for it along streams and lakes and near mud holes, where it often grows abundantly. It forms dense, green clusters with splashes of light purple flower heads.
Streams, lakes, roadsides.
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When to Find It
You can gather water mint from May until October. It blooms from July until September.
Entire plant: May, June, July, August, September, October. -
How to Spot It
Water mint is an herb with a reddish, square, almost hairless stem that normally grows to be 20-80 cm tall. In spring, the leaves on the young plants are rounded, egg-shaped, and reddish. As the plant grows, the leaves turn greener, and become more oblong and tapered, with visible veins that stand out from the surface. The flowers, which are small and light purple, can either grow in rounded, ball-shaped heads at the top of the stem, or in rings around the top of the plant.
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How to Pick It
You can use the stem, leaves, and flowers. Snip or clip the plant starting halfway up the stem so you get the freshest parts of the plant.
Flowers: July, August, September.
Risk of misidentifying the plant
There is no risk of mistaking the plant for another dangerous or undesirable plant.
