Mojito Mint is Mentha x villosa, with Mentha x villosa var. alopecuroides as a synonym which doesn't mean they are the same plant. However, as a 'var.' or variety might be included. I came across Mentha x villosa which does have hairy stems and white hairs under the leaves according to the description. I know the person who runs this site takes care to state whether or not the ID is verifiable, his camera icon says it's easily identifiable by photo.
http://www.naturespot.org.uk/s...
None of the photos here have hairy stems and most have red stems, hmmmmmmmm. Some research is needed.
Mojito Mint (Mentha x villosa)
I know the guy who runs the next site, I've had some plants from him and he's had several national collections of mainly South African bulbs. His photos will be correct and they are hairy.
http://www.aphotoflora.com/d_m...
This looks the same and I would say correct ..
http://www.alamy.com/stock-pho...
This blog person seems to know what they are talking about ...
Both peppermint and spearmint leaves are very hairy, and give you a bad case of the "fuzzy tongue" if you consume a lot of it. True mojito mint, on the other hand, has leaves that are almost completely smooth which completely eliminates the fuzzy tongue feel.
http://botanicalmusings.blogsp...
There's a lot of sites showing the hairy Bowles Mint, maybe there's different named crosses from the same cross which are different?
https://www.google.co.uk/searc...
https://www.google.co.uk/searc...
Mojito with red stems ..
http://www.thegrowers-exchange...
It seems those 'over here' are different to those 'over there'.
We don't have a 'Bowles Mint' entry.
A site here sells many mints, one mentions putting 'Mentha spicata Spanish' in your Mojitos, it has red stems.
http://www.pepperpotherbplants...
https://www.google.co.uk/searc...
Another selling herbs ..
http://www.hooksgreenherbs.com...
The RHS has Mentha × villosa var. alopecuroides as an accepted name ..
https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/...
The Plant List has it as a synonym of Mentha x villosa..
http://www.theplantlist.org/tp...
And here is the history of the naming, the earliest in 1778 takes priority.
http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/named...
That doesn't solve our mystery of which is correct! Is there more than one plant from the same breeding programme which are different? That happens, and they are given different names.
A thread on DG agrees with hairy.
http://www.theplantlist.org/tp...
I think, somehow, we need a Bowles Mint entry, it's obviously a named variety.
Apple mint is commonly grown in the herb garden. There is at least one named variety, 'Bowles mint' is said to be a superior form and it is the form usually cultivated commercially for mint sauce
http://www.pfaf.org/User/Plant...
