A common name containing mint does not place every herb in Mentha. Confirm the identity of huoxiang before using scent or leaf size as a decisive comparison.
1. Leaf difference
Huoxiang is also known as "big leaf mint". It can be clearly seen from this aliases that Huoxiang's leaves are larger than mint leaves.
In addition to comparing the size of the two leaves, you can also pay attention to the base of the leaves, which is the part connected to the petiole. The foundation of Huoxiang's leaves is "heart shape", and the gap in the heart is relatively shallow. The foundation of mint leaves is wedge -shaped, or the small gap that has no "heart" shape. In addition, there is one thing that the leaves of Huoxiang look like a shrinking feeling, while mint leaves are more flat.
Second, the difference between flowers
Although Huoxiang and Mint are flowers with many inflorescences, there are still obvious differences. The growth of Huoxiang's flowers is on the "top" of the main stem or side branches. This is called "top -born" in botanicals, and the flowers of Huoxiang are very dense, with cylindrical spikes. Mints grow in where the leaves and main stems are connected, that is, "axillary". Simply put, Huoxiang's flowers grow on the "top of the head", while mint is under the "armpit".
Related reading: Mint Varieties: Comparing Labels, Leaves and Flower Spikes.