# Are mint berries edible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372 "2010-11-30T04:23:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/1 "2010-11-30T04:23:19Z")
Our new house has some mint plants, which seem to be a cross between spearmint and peppermint. Great, I can have mint in my tea whenever I please. These mint plants have some dark purplish blue berries on them. Are they edible? Are they worth eating? Anyone have any suggestions or recipes? I don’t have a lot of mint plants (and they’re confined, so they won’t take over the yard) but I’d be interested in eating the berries if I won’t poison myself. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/2 "2010-11-30T08:23:43Z")
Hmm I thought this was going to be a Min Berry Crunch related question. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/3 "2010-11-30T10:04:46Z")
Mints do not produce berries, would you have a picture of the plant with these berries? I’m very intrigued. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/4 "2010-11-30T10:24:14Z")
> **[Botany](https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/botany)** > > Botany is a branch of biology focused on the study of plant life. Learn about the science of botany in this section. Says that it produces 4 small nutlets, which I also find confusing. Since it does blossom, it must have a fruiting body of some sort. OK, going for the old style [illustration](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Koeh-096.jpg) from an herbal, it does show 4 small fruiting bodies that I suppose you could call nutlets … but the scale is seriously tiny. I think you have some form of plant that may resemble mint, but isn’t mint … Can you perhaps take and upload a picture? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/5 "2010-11-30T13:24:02Z")
I’ve never seen anything resembling “berries” on a true mint plant (Mentha species; according to Wikipedia “The fruit is a small, dry capsule containing one to four seeds.”). So I also wonder exactly what the OP has in her garden. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/6 "2010-11-30T15:16:34Z")
Peppermint itself is a cross between spearmint and watermint; perhaps the OP has the latter? I can’t find any references to berries on that, though. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/7 "2010-11-30T18:00:25Z")
Nah I have watermint at home and they do not have berries. I was thinking about Tanacetum balsamita, but them too, they do not bear berries. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/8 "2010-11-30T19:06:42Z")
Wintergreen is minty and produces berries, but they aren’t purple. I’m interested in knowing what this plant is, too. > **[Wintergreen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wintergreen)** > > Wintergreen is a group of aromatic plants. The term "wintergreen" once commonly referred to plants that remain green (continue photosynthesis) throughout the winter. The term "evergreen" is now more commonly used for this characteristic. > Most species of the shrub genus Gaultheria demonstrate this characteristic and are called wintergreens in North America, the most common generally being the American wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens). Wintergreens in the genus Gaultheria contain an aromatic co... ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/9 "2010-11-30T19:21:28Z")
Mint Berry CUHRUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH! ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/10 "2010-11-30T20:22:03Z")
I was thinking wintergreen also, but those berries are red. Almanzo Wilder and his sister Alice go digging them out of the snow in _Farmer Boy_ (they also gather a jar full of leaves for their mother to use in making wintergreen extract for candy). I just ate a bunch on Sunday, and I think that wintergreen-flavored toothpaste has mostly ruined them for me - I feel like I’m eating mouthwash fruit. Is the plant very low to the ground, no more than an inch or two high? Does it have shiny green leaves even after a frost? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/11 "2010-11-30T22:51:07Z")
**Lynn** , those ain’t mint plants, whatever they are. Mint do not make berries. Don’t eat the berries until you’ve had someone confirm what they are… but they ain’t mint. Bart: So? How are they, Ralph? Ralph: Tastes … like … burrrrning … Is it lantana? That [stuff](http://landscaping.about.com/od/flowerseed/p/lantana_plant.htm)is [everywhere](http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/578/)in Texas, and it has sort of a minty smell to the leaves, plus they’re all producing dark, shiny, purple-black berries this time of year. If that’s what it is, then don’t eat the berries OR steep the leaves! ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/12 "2010-11-30T22:56:23Z")
Or perhaps it’s belladonna/deadly nightshade - annnual with purple black berries with leaves sort of like mint. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/13 "2010-11-30T23:16:57Z")
Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t drink any more of that “mint” tea, **Lynn**. … Lynn? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/14 "2010-12-01T01:44:43Z")
SHABLAGOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Stupid no caps coding! ---
**Author:** ![Bewildebeest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bewildebeest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bewildebeest)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/15 "2010-12-01T16:40:04Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Is it lantana? That [stuff](http://landscaping.about.com/od/flowerseed/p/lantana_plant.htm)is [everywhere](http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/578/)in Texas, and it has sort of a minty smell to the leaves, plus they’re all producing dark, shiny, purple-black berries this time of year. If that’s what it is, then don’t eat the berries OR steep the leaves! Really? To me lantana smells like industrial solvent (varsol). I can’t imagine anyone drinking a tea that smells like that. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/16 "2010-12-01T17:16:10Z")
> [@Bewildebeest](#): > > Really? To me lantana smells like industrial solvent (varsol). I can’t imagine anyone drinking a tea that smells like that. A lot of people say it smells kinda like cat pee. But a _minty-fresh_ cat pee, ya know? 😃 I think “what does lantana smell like?” goes in the same category as “what does cilantro taste like?” People seem to have a wide variety of reactions. Anyway, it has dark purplish berries as the OP described, leaves that look pretty much like mint (it even has square stems like the mint family!) and the OP is in the right region, so I thought I’d throw it out there. **Lynn** , has this plant bloomed? If so, what did the flowers look like? Bonus points for posting a pic … or, just letting us know you’re not dead yet. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/17 "2010-12-02T06:13:35Z")
I ain’t dead. Yet. There’s bird poop all over the leaves of whatever it is, so I haven’t even harvested any leaves, and now I’m just as glad. We’ve only been living in this house for a few weeks. I’m sure that the plants HAVE bloomed, but I wasn’t around to see them. I’ll try to get around to posting a pic of the berries or fruits or whatever. The previous owner DID tell me that they’re mint plants, but I guess she was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/18 "2010-12-02T06:54:37Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > We’ve only been living in this house for a few weeks. I’m sure that the plants HAVE bloomed, but I wasn’t around to see them. I’ll try to get around to posting a pic of the berries or fruits or whatever. The previous owner DID tell me that they’re mint plants, but I guess she was wrong. This sounds like the opening page to a mystery novel. The next chapter involves legal wrangling to get the house back after the untimely and unexplained demise of the new owners. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/19 "2010-12-02T08:22:06Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > A lot of people say it smells kinda like cat pee. But a _minty-fresh_ cat pee, ya know? I can easily imagine people associating cat pee with the smell of the combination of actual cat pee and the minty fresh smell emanating from the scratchy-scent minty smell of the litter. For my part, for some reason, I associate pee with bad popcorn, and popcorn with nice smelling pee. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2010, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372/20 "2010-12-02T09:36:20Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > We’ve only been living in this house for a few weeks. I’m sure that the plants HAVE bloomed, but I wasn’t around to see them. [Triffids](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffid). For sure. Did you notice an abundance of dead birds and critters around the plants? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mint-berries-edible/562372.md?page=2)