Of Two Mints. Mint Moth, Pyrausta aurata on Mentha longifolia, Horse Mint, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
No doubt our Mint Moth of Burnished Gold, Pyrausta aurata, is not confused at all about this Horse Mint, Mentha longifolia. But I was. In Dutch this plant is called 'Hertsmunt' (Hart's - Deer - Mint), and I was curious why the English should be 'Horse Mint', horses and deer being quite different animals...
So I did a bit of digging in older botanical literature and manuals. The upshot of it all is the following (to make a much longer story short): Mentha longifolia was known in Dutch and German and English as Horse or Herts/Hirsch (= Hart/Deer) Mint with assorted other names as well. But this plant should not be confused with another Mint - Mentha cardiaca - which in German is called 'Hertz' (Heart)-Kraut, and for some sixteenth- and seventeenth century Dutch botanists also goes by the name of 'Hertsmunt', this time derived not from the German 'Hirsch' for deer but from 'Hertz' for heart.
Whatever...
But isn't Mint Moth just wonderful! And if Green Eyes are the hallmark of great and unique beauty...
Of Two Mints. Mint Moth, Pyrausta aurata on Mentha longifolia, Horse Mint, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
No doubt our Mint Moth of Burnished Gold, Pyrausta aurata, is not confused at all about this Horse Mint, Mentha longifolia. But I was. In Dutch this plant is called 'Hertsmunt' (Hart's - Deer - Mint), and I was curious why the English should be 'Horse Mint', horses and deer being quite different animals...
So I did a bit of digging in older botanical literature and manuals. The upshot of it all is the following (to make a much longer story short): Mentha longifolia was known in Dutch and German and English as Horse or Herts/Hirsch (= Hart/Deer) Mint with assorted other names as well. But this plant should not be confused with another Mint - Mentha cardiaca - which in German is called 'Hertz' (Heart)-Kraut, and for some sixteenth- and seventeenth century Dutch botanists also goes by the name of 'Hertsmunt', this time derived not from the German 'Hirsch' for deer but from 'Hertz' for heart.
Whatever...
But isn't Mint Moth just wonderful! And if Green Eyes are the hallmark of great and unique beauty...