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Mentha cunninghamii
Also called New Zealand Mint
New Zealand mint (Mentha cunninghamii) is a low, creeping, mat-forming perennial native to New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, with a mint scent. It is grown in gardens as a ground cover or for its leaves.
Mentha cunninghamii, known commonly as New Zealand mint or Māori mint, is a species within the Mentha (mint) genus, endemic to New Zealand.
Mentha cunninghamii is endemic to the four islands of North Island, South Island, Chatham Island and Stewart Island in New Zealand. It is found sparsely in grassy fields and open land generally. It inhabits an elevation range from coastal to alpine, within a range of sea level to 4,500 feet (1,400 metres). Sources variously describe its flowering season as beginning in the Southern Hemisphere in either September or November, ending in April.
Mentha cunninghamii has been used by New Zealand's Māori people as a diaphoretic (meant to induce sweating). The leaves are also used for their scent, including in cooking. It is described as easily cultivable in many gardens.
Water mint · Wild mint · Australian Mint · Mentha gattefossei · Mentha grandiflora · Mentha japonica · Mentha micrantha · Peppermint · Pennyroyal · Mint · Mentha royleana · Spearmint
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mentha cunninghamii by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
