Tropicos | Name - Mentha royleana Benth.

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Mentha royleana Benth.

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Project Name Data (Last Modified On 6/2/2011)

Acceptance : Accepted

Project Data (Last Modified On 6/3/2011)

Contributor Text: I.C. Hedge

Flower/Fruit: Fl. Per.: July-October.

Type: Type: [NW India] Deyra Dhoon, J. F. Boyle (LIV? G).

Distribution: Distribution: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, NW India, Tibet.

Comment/Acknowledgements: There is no doubt that Mentha royleana, the commonest mint in our area, is very close to Mentha longifolio. Many authors have reduced it to varietal rank or totally subsumed it. A number of specimens (some are cited below) are intermediate. But the fact that a large number of specimens can be recognized on the combination of characters cited above, the different facies from the more western Mentha longifolia and the distribution pattern support its recognition at subspecific or specific level. And if a taxon such as the wild Mentha spicata is given specific status separate from Mentha longifolia, there are reasonable grounds for giving Mentha royleana a similar rank.

Rechinger recognized 3 varieties of Mentha royleana in Flora Iranian var. royleana (leaves white villous-pubescent beneath); var. detonsa (Briquet) Rech. f. (slender plant with thin leaves and elongated branches - the commonest variety) and var. afghanica (Murata) Rech. f. (sturdy with thick leaves). All 3 varieties were recorded from Pakistan, but only one or a few specimens of each were cited. With the fairly abundant material I have seen from Pakistan, I could not confidently assign our specimens to these varieties.

The subspecies hymaliensis Briquet of Mentha longifolia, or Mentha royleana, must be typified by Aitchison 620, but this specimen has not been traced (see also Rechinger, l.c. 568). Although Briquet did not cite the locality of the specimen, it was probably collected in the Kurram valley.

Some anomalous specimens (of which there are many) or specimens somewhat intermediate between Mentha longifolia and Mentha royleana are:

A-8 Gilgit: Naltar valley, Ghafoor & Z. L. Butt 812 (KUH); B-7 Hazara: Kaghan valley, coll. illeg. 263 (KUH); Swat: Ushu, Nasir & Siddiqi 984 (RAW); B-8 Gilgit, 1500 m, R. R. Stewart 26189 (RAW); D-4 Quetta: Hanna lake, Nazim & Iqbal Dar 295 (KUH).

Illustration:

Map Location: A-6 Chitral: Gobi Gol, 2130 m, Bowes Lyon 28 (BM, E); Chitral to Tirich Mir, Kamal Malik et al. 1438 (KUH); A-7(?) Chitral: Nisar valley, Qaiser & Ghafoor 6617 (KUH); Gilgit: Mass to Babusar, Sultanul Abedin & Qaiser 9120 (KUH); A-8 Karakoram: Nagar village, 2300 m, O. Polunin 6415 (BM, E); Chalt, O. Polunin 6454 (BM, E); B-6 Chitral: Chitral, Qaiser & Ghafoor 1868 (KUH), Sultanul Abedin 8012, 8098 (KUH); Drosh, Sultanul Abedin 7935, 7940 (KUH); Bainisar to Drosh, Sultanul Abedin 8157 (KUH); Malakand: Malakand to But Khela, Sultanul Abedin 7721, 7724 (KUH); Dir: Dir river, Qaiser & Ghafoor 1714 (KUH); Dir to Drosh, Sultanul Abedin 7922 (KUH); Swat: Jabba to Kalam, Qaiser & Ghafoor 4828 (KUH); B-7 Swat: Amankot, Saidu Sharif, Farooqi s.n. (KUH); Kalam, Kazmi 3486 (KUH); Mingora, R. R. Stewart 24262 (RAW); Hazara: Naran to Saiful Malook lake, Kazmi 2324 (KUH); Batakot, Qureshi 40 (KUH); Kashmir: Muzaffarabad, Kohalla, E. Nasir 5360 (E, RAW); Muzaffarabad, 700 m, Schmid 185 (E, G); Muzaffarabad to Srinagar, Farooqi & Qaiser 3023 (KUH); B-8 Gilgit: Kargah, Saood Omer 192, 462 (KUH); Gilgit, 1400 m, O. Polunin 6026 (BM, E); McVean s.n. (E); Kashmir: Tangmarg, 1830 m, O. Polunin 56/346 (BM, E); Kashmir valley, 1670 m, Stainton 7961 (BM, E); Kangan, 1670 m, Ludlow & Sherriff 7945 (BM, E); Indus valley, near Katzura, Duthie 12074 (E, K); Srinagar, Schlagintweit 4415 (E); B-9 Kashmir: Ladak, Leh, 3800 m, Ludlow & Sheriff 8559 (BM, E); Ladak, Henus, 3350 m, Koelz 2448a (E, NY); Shigar, Chafoor & Butt 636 (KUH); C-5 N. Waziristan: Razmak, c. 2100 m, Lowndes 5 (E); S Waziristan: Wana Camp, 1400 m, Marwat s.n. (KUH); C-6 Kurram: Trimangal, Kazmi 3753 (KUH); Shalowzai, Kazmi 3763A, 3764B (KUH); C-7 Attock: Khairabad, R. R. Stewart s.n. (KUH, RAW); Jhelum: Kallar Kahar, Ahmad s.n. (RAW); Campbellpur: Wah, Wah Gardens, Saida Qureshi 269 (KUH), Qaiser 280 (KUH); C-8 Kashmir: Zanskar valley, 3810 m, Stainton 8416 (BM, E); D-4 Quetta: Ureic, Farooqi & Qaiser 2426 (KUH); D-8 Lahore: Changa Manga, Sultanul Abedin 7529, 7530 (KUH).