Pennyroyal -- Mentha Pulegium

In Greek mythology Minthe was a nymph beloved by Pluto who transformed her into these scented herbs after his wife took drastic action. Mint is considered a sign of hospitality. This species of Mint, a native of most parts of Europe and parts of Asia, is the Pulegium of the Romans, so named by Pliny fromits reputed power of driving away fleas - 'pulex' being the Latin for flea, hence the Italian 'pulce' and the French 'puce'. This name given the plant in ancient times has been retained as its modern specific name. It is sometimes known to the country-people as'Run by the Ground' and 'Lurk in the Ditch,' from its manner of growth. It was formerly much used in medicine, the name Pennyroyal being a corruption of the old herbalists' name 'Pulioll-royall' (Pulegium regium), which we meet also in the Middle Ages as 'Piliole-rial.' It has been known to botanists since the time of Linnaeus as Mentha Pulegium. One of its popular names is 'Pudding Grass,' from being formerly used in stuffing for hog's puddings ('grass' being, like 'wort,' a word simply meaning 'herb'). It is still used abroad in various culinary preparations, but in this country it is now in disuse, as its taste and odor is too pronounced. A famous stuffing was once made of Pennyroyal, pepper and honey.

Description
Pennyroyal is the smallest of the Mints and very different in habit from any of the others. Two forms of the plant are met with in Great Britain: the commonest, the variety decumbens, has weak, prostrate stems, bluntly quadrangular, 3 inches to a foot long, which readily takes roots at the lower joints or nodes. The leaves are opposite, shortly stalked, more or less hairy on both sides, roundish oval, grayish green, about 1 to 1 1/2 inch long and 1/2 inch broad. The flowers are in whirled clusters of ten or a dozen, rising in tiers one above the other at the nodes, where the leaves spring in pairs, beginning about the middle of the stem, their color reddish purple to lilac blue, and in bloom during July and August. The seed is light brown, oval and very small. The other variety, erect, has much stouter stems, not rooting at the nodes and not decumbent, but erect or sub-erect, 8 to 12 inches high. It is rarer, but the best for cultivation, as it can be reaped and tied up in bundles easily, whereas the stems of decumbens form a dense green turf, the flowering stems, sparingly produced, lying on the leafy cushions of the plant. There are other varieties on the Continent. The plant has been introduced into North and South America. It is mentioned in the Herbals of the New World as one of the plants the Pilgrim Fathers introduced. Like most of its near relatives, Pennyroyal is highly aromatic, perhaps even more so than any other Mint, containing an essential oil resembling in properties that of other mints, though less powerful. The flavor is more pungent and acrid and less agreeable than that of Spearmint or Peppermint. Pennyroyal is often found in cottage gardens, as an infusion of the leaves, known as Pennyroyal Tea, is an old-fashioned remedy for colds and menstrual derangements.

Light and soil
Partial shade to sun; moist, well drained, rich soil with a pH of 6.0-7.0.

Pests and disease
Usually free of disease and it is reported to repel some insects. Repels carrot rust fly when planted near many vegetables.

Cultivation
Locally, Pennyroyal grows abundantly, but being required by the hundred weight it has been cultivated to a certain extent in this country, on account of the difficulty of obtaining sufficient quantities from the widely separated localities in which it is found. As a crop, it presents uncertainty, being diminished by drought, its natural habitat being on moist heaths and commons by the sides of pools. It is easily grown from seed and succeeds best in loamy soil, in a moist situation, but propagation is commonly by division of old roots in autumn or spring, March or April, like Spearmint, or more rarely by cuttings. The roots may be divided up in September where the winters are mild, in April where the winters are frosty. .

Harvesting
Pennyroyal is mostly sold in the dry state for making tea, the stems being cut when the plant is just about to flower and dried in the usual manner.

Bloom time and color
July-August; reddish-purple to lilac.

Plant type and hardiness
Perennial; hardiness zone 5-9.

Height and width
Height 1 foot; width varies, spreads aggressively.

Herbal uses
Culinary, decorative, medicinal. Attractive flowers. For culinary use. Use for flavoring. Use in vinegars. Use for containers. Use for tea. Use for drying. Do not use in large doses when pregnant. Rubbing the oil from freshly crushed leaves on your skin is said to repel flies, gnats, chiggers, ticks and mosquitoes. Pennyroyal is reported to have some medicinal uses.

Medicinal Action and Uses
There is a long list of disorders for which Pennyroyal was a supposed remedy, and
especially recommends it for hanging in bed rooms, it is being considered by physicians as more conducive to health even than roses.

Insider's secret
In planting, allow a space of 12 inches between the rows and 6 inches between the plants in the row. Water shortly afterwards should the weather be at all dry. When a good stock of healthy roots has been obtained, Pennyroyal may be forced with advantage. The creeping underground roots grow in horizontal masses, as with the other mints and if some of these are taken upat any time during the winter and laid out on a bed of good soil, covering them with 2 or 3 inches of the same, they will soon push up fresh shoots in quantity. They can be put in boxes in a moderately warm house or pit. If all the tops are not wanted they maybe made into cuttings, each with four or five joints, and, inserted in boxes of light, sandy soil, will soon form roots in the same temperature, and after being duly hardened off, may be planted out in the open, in due course, and a healthy, vigorous stock thus
be maintained. Towards the close of autumn all the stalks that remain should be cut down to the ground and the bed covered with fresh soil to the depth of 1 inch. Plantations generally last for four or five years when well managed and on favorable soil, but frosts may cause the crop to die off in patches, so it is a safe plan to make new plantings yearly

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