  peppermint (mentha Ã piperita, also known as m. balsamea willd.) is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint.the complete illustrated book of herbs, alex frampton, the reader's digest association, 2009 the plant, indigenous to europe and the middle east, is now widespread in cultivation in many regions of the world.euro+med plantbase project: mentha Ã piperita it is found wild occasionally with its parent species.flora of nw europe: mentha Ã piperita ==botany== thumb|right|200px|peppermint flowers. peppermint was first described in 1753 by carl linnaeus from specimens that had been collected in england; he treated it as a species,linnaeus, c. (1753). species plantarum 2: 576â577. but it is now universally agreed to be a hybrid.harley, r. m. (1975). mentha l. in: stace, c. a., ed. hybridization and the flora of the british isles page 387. it is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial plant growing to  tall, with smooth stems, square in cross section. the rhizomes are wide-spreading, fleshy, and bare fibrous roots. the leaves are from  long and  broad, dark green with reddish veins, and with an acute apex and coarsely toothed margins. the leaves and stems are usually slightly fuzzy. the flowers are purple,  long, with a four-lobed corolla about  diameter; they are produced in whorls (verticillasters) around the stem, forming thick, blunt spikes. flowering is from mid to late summer. the chromosome number is variable, with 2n counts of 66, 72, 84, and 120 recorded.huxley, a., ed. (1992). new rhs dictionary of gardening. macmillan isbn 0-333-47494-5.blamey, m. & grey-wilson, c. (1989). flora of britain and northern europe. isbn 0-340-40170-2{{page needed|date=november 
Antiemetics Flora_of_Europe Flora_of_the_Middle_East Herbs Hybrid_plants Medicinal_plants Mentha Plants_described_in_1753