Anything poisonous that looks and smells like mint?

Evening all.

I found some mint growing around some local marshes. I'm as convinced as I can be that it is some form of mint. It looks like mint and smells like mint, but some of the leaves have a slight reddish tint on the edges, and this stuff was growing in the marsh.

I didn't see any flowers on it, but then I can't remember when mint normally flowers (I think its usually later in the summer but I can't remember for sure).

If I pinch some can I eat it, or could it be something that looks and smells like mint but isn't?

 

Sounds like Mentha Aquatica, Water Mint.

Has it got a stem that's square in section?

Nothing poisonous in the mint family as far as I know.

 

I took some from the banks of the River Ouse and it was fine. It had been underwater completely for a while but was so resilient! Lovely stuff!

 

Square stems, yes. I've googled mentha aquatica, and I'm even more sure now that that's what it is. I might taste a bit and if I don't die, then I'll be sure we're all right. If I do die, then I'll know we were all wrong

 

Can I have your Volvo then?

 

I don't like it = tooo minty. prefer good old garden mint. Just had some in with the new potatoes and melted butter....

 

I likes Apple Mint.

 

That must be terrible. A minty mint?

I must admit when I first saw it and visually ID'ed it as mint, the next stage is to smell it, and the smell was stronger than 'average' mint. Of the few mints I know, the scent is probably closest to peppermint, with the appearance probably closer to spearmint, but with a red tint on some leaves.

 

It's one of the parents of Peppermint.

 

Well I pinched a bit of this mint and planted it up at the edge of my new pond. I also have some posh mint elsewhere in the garden. I call it posh mint because my mam gave me it after it was given to her by a neighbour whose friend worked in the grounds of one of the queen's gaffs (or so it is claimed, plausible I guess).

So lets see what happens when the posh mint from the queen's garden breeds with the filthy dirty common mint from the mucky marshes of teesside. That would be a scandal worthy of the cheap sunday tabloids I reckon.