Abstract
Virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum) is a peppermint-flavored aromatic herb of the Lamiaceae and is mainly used for culinary, medicinal, aromatic, and ornamental purposes. North Alabama’s climate is conducive to growing mint for essential oils used in culinary, confectionery, and medicinal purposes. There is, however, a need for varieties of P. virginianum that can be adapted and easily grown for production in North Alabama. Towards this end, four field-grown varieties with three harvesting times (M1H1, M1H2, M1H3; M2H1, M2H2, M2H3; M3H1, M3H2, M3H3, M4H1, M4H2, M4H3) were evaluated for relative differences in essential oil yield and composition. Thirty-day-old greenhouse-grown plants of the four varieties were transplanted on raised beds in the field at the Alabama A & M University Research Station in North Alabama. The plots were arranged in a randomized complete block with three replications. The study’s objective was to compare the four varieties for essential oil yield and their composition at three harvest times, 135, 155, and 170 days after planting (DAP). Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation with continuous extraction with dichloromethane using a Likens–Nickerson apparatus and analyzed by gas chromatographic techniques. At the first harvest, the essential oil yield of the four varieties showed that M1H1 had a yield of 1.15%, higher than M2H1, M3H1, and M4H1 with 0.91, 0.76, and 1.03%, respectively. The isomenthone concentrations increased dramatically through the season in M1 (M1H1, M1H2, M1H3) by 19.93, 54.7, and 69.31%, and M3 (M3H1, M3H2, M3H3) by 1.81, 48.02, and 65.83%, respectively. However, it increased only slightly in M2 and M4. The thymol concentration decreased slightly but not significantly in all four varieties; the thymol in M2 and M4 was very high compared with M1 and M3. The study showed that mountain mint offers potential for production in North Alabama. Two varieties, M1 and M3, merit further studies to determine yield stability, essential oil yield, composition, and cultivation development practices.
Highlights
Discovered and named ‘mountain mint’ by the French Botanist Andre Micaux [1], Pycnanthemum Michx. is an herbaceous perennial belonging to the family Lamiaceae
There were significant differences among varieties for fresh leaf biomass at 135 and 155 days after transplanting (DAP), but no such differences existed at 179 days after planting (DAP) (Figure 1)
The fresh leaf biomass of all varieties decreased with age, and at 170 DAP, it was less than half of that produced at 135 DAP
Summary
Discovered and named ‘mountain mint’ by the French Botanist Andre Micaux [1], Pycnanthemum Michx. Is an herbaceous perennial belonging to the family Lamiaceae. The plants can grow up to 1 meter in height with delicate, angular stems and 4–6 cm long narrowly lanceolate leaves. The leaves are known for their mild mint flavor. The plants grow well in semi-shaded woodlands and along waterways on well-drained, light, sandy, loam clay soils with a pH ranging from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline [2]
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