Calamintha

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Calamintha
Calamintha grandiflora
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Calamintha
Mill.
Species

See text.

Calamintha is a genus of plants that belongs to the family Lamiaceae. There are about thirty species in the genus which is native to the northern temperate regions of Europe, Asia and America.

[edit] Species

  • Calamintha ashei
  • Calamintha coccinea
  • Calamintha dentata
  • Calamintha grandiflora
  • Calamintha nepeta - used as an herb in Italian cuisine, where it is called nipitella or nepitella[1]
  • Calamintha officinalis, a low-growing plant with a minty smell and lavender flowers. It prefers alkaline soil. The leaves can be used to make tea.

Calamintha species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Coleophora albitarsella.