Mint - what, why, how

[Paul mabbott]

This mint (fleshy leaves rather like 'catmint' which, I recall is not a mentha sp?) in large numbers between the gate to Ramsley Moor and the Sheffield-Bakewell Road.
Questions: What is it? (would be nice to know) Why is it doing so well there? (at the base of an acid moorland, next to a road, well-trampled by humans - not present elsewhere along the road that I could see and not on the other side of the stone wall on the moor) How did it get there?

[Tiggrx]

It is a species of Mint (Mentha) rather than a Catmint (Nepeta) -without having looked in a book I would suggest Applemint (Mentha x villosa). Like many other garden plants it can turn up in the most unlikely places - it's amazing where people dump rubbish.

[Paul mabbott]

Thanks. Yesterday wasn't a great day for photography - low cloud and misted up lenses so I brought some home with me - what features ought I concentrate on?

Yes, but it's not adjacent to a layby or any dwelling place - although I do take your point. The other vegetation was 'natural' enough: knapweed, umbellifers, and no ragwort!

Originally Posted by Tiggrx

It is a species of Mint (Mentha) rather than a Catmint (Nepeta) -without having looked in a book I would suggest Applemint (Mentha x villosa). Like many other garden plants it can turn up in the most unlikely places - it's amazing where people dump rubbish.