Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Your gift keeps resources like this database thriving!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
1 rating

Sunday - August 23, 2009

From: Tippecanoe, OH
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Invasive Plants
Title: Invasive native mint in Tippecanoe OH
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I have a problem with Mentha Arvensis, I raise sheep and goats and they will not eat this. The mint is starting to take over my 65 acre farm,Q.What is best way to rid this plant so I do not lose my grazing fields?

ANSWER:

Mentha arvensis (wild mint) is one of the very few mints native to North America and the mints, can, indeed be invasive. Your sheep and goats are smart not to eat it. From the Conditions Comments on our Native Plant Database page on this plant:

"Warning: The fruit of this plant is toxic and may be fatal if ingested in large quantities. It is especially dangerous to children, who may mistake the fruit for grapes. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person’s age, weight, physical condition, and individual"

The plant is native not only to Ohio but to the area in and around Harrison County, so you are kind of stuck with it. It likes moist conditions and part shade. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center recommends neither for nor against herbicides, and in this case, that would be difficult. You would have to spray the whole field with a broad-leaf plant, or dicot, herbicide, hoping to preserve the grasses, or monocots, that the livestock could actually graze on. To do that, you would probably have to remove your stock to some other location, and you could never be absolutely sure you had eradicated the wild mint. This problem is the kind of thing that state agricultural universities are trained to handle, and you can contact some experts through the Ohio State University Extension Office-Harrison County. Since this plant is both native to your area and invasive, as well as having poisonous parts, this is surely not the first time the Extension Office has dealt with the problem. Hopefully, they will be prepared to offer you a solution you can work with.

From our Native Plant Image Gallery


Mentha arvensis

Mentha arvensis

Mentha arvensis

 

 

More Invasive Plants Questions

Invasiveness of Cosmos from Decatur GA
April 26, 2013 - I have been searching for an answer concerning the invasive plant Cosmos. I know that Florida declares this but I have not been able to find out does Georgia? And specifically,is it only the yellow Co...
view the full question and answer

A&M maroon bluebonnets for Hawaii
July 10, 2011 - My daughter graduated from Texas A&M and has moved to Hawaii. She would love to have the maroon bluebonnets developed by A&M to plant in her new home. How would she need to prepare the seeds since t...
view the full question and answer

Absence of grass around a willow tree in Georgia
December 22, 2008 - In the past three years my Willow tree has grown from a stick to a lovely tree. Unfortunately, the grass under and around the tree is gone. Nothing left but dirt. Is there a remedy?
view the full question and answer

Native plants for shade in Ennis TX
August 26, 2011 - My house faces south. The southwest side of the front yard has a Pride of Houston, Japanese Barberry, 2 crape myrtles and some dwarf yaupon hollies. The other section, divided by a stairway to the p...
view the full question and answer

Controlling poison oak or poison ivy in Iowa
April 29, 2010 - We recently purchased a property that is VERY wooded and has been vacant for two yrs. with little upkeep previously. We have (we were told) l00 yr old poison oak vines hanging from trees. We hired so...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.