It grows about 2' tall. The leaves are downy above and below, a little larger than peppermint leaves. By the 1890's, Ojibwe women were using it. It had a Native name, Gajugensibug , and was said to be a good tea to drink to bring down fevers, as well as pleasant-tasting. Big JPEG original of this photo from the Herb Research Foundation's images database.
T o use fresh mint in cooking, remove leaves from coarse stems, chop or crush.
Don't boil the tea, pour boiling water over the leaves and steep for 5 minutes. To make a tea, use about 1 tablespoonful of crushed, dry leaves per cup of water. Pour boiling water onto it, steep, don't boil. Mint tea does not reheat well. In 2 weeks, there will be a mass of roots.