ຫອມລາບ / Marsh Mint

Mars mint is a perennial herb, meaning that it lives more than two years. Its roots are fibrous and short, while the stems are up to 15-30 cm long and trailing along the ground without throwing out roots (=procumbent). The stems are angled with a usually red-purple coloured angle. The herb has many branches on the stem as well, with new branches raising from an old stem or branche. Looking at the leaves, they are 1.5-3.5 cm wide and 2-7 cm long and have a top that is sharply pointing (=acute to acuminate). They have a wrinkled surface (=rugose) and notched edges (=serrate). Also, the leaves are elliptic in shape and are arranged in the opposite of each other. The herb not only has leaves, but flowers as well. Clusters of flowers (=inflorescences) grow from the terminal branches, containing many small pink to purple coloured flowers. Each flower is surrounded by five sepals and the cone-shaped petals and connected with 4 stamens inside the flower. The fruits of the herb are small, black, hairless, waxy and have a globose-elliptic shape. The seeds usually do not grow, as they are developed from stamen that do not produce pollen (=staminode).