SimplePlant

Lamiaceae

Peppermint

Mentha × piperita L.

Family
Lamiaceae
Genus
Mentha

Pets and kids

  • CatsMildly toxic
  • DogsMildly toxic
  • KidsNot sure
Why

Cats: Mildly toxic

Mildly toxic to cats. Toxic principle: essential oils.

Signs: vomiting, diarrhea.

Dogs: Mildly toxic

Mildly toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: essential oils.

Signs: vomiting, diarrhea.

Kids: Not sure

We found no reliable source on this plant for young children, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with a doctor or poison control.

Peppermint (Mentha × piperita)
FlowerPhoto: RJ Baltierra, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Is Peppermint safe for cats, dogs and kids?

Is Peppermint safe for cats?

No. Our sources call Peppermint mildly toxic to cats. Toxic principle: essential oils. Signs: vomiting, diarrhea.

Is Peppermint safe for dogs?

No. Our sources call Peppermint mildly toxic to dogs. Toxic principle: essential oils. Signs: vomiting, diarrhea.

Is Peppermint safe for kids?

We found no reliable source on this plant for young children, so we don't call it safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked with a doctor or poison control.

Ate some? Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply). For a child, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). If they are struggling to breathe or collapse, call 911. Don't give anything by mouth unless a vet or poison expert tells you to.

See all cat-safe plants, dog-safe plants and child-safe plants.

Similar names and close relatives

A shared name doesn't mean a shared answer: check the exact plant.

  • Spearmint Mentha spicatasame genusCats: Mildly toxic; Dogs: Mildly toxic; Kids: Not sure
  • Corn mint Mentha arvensissame genusCats: Not sure; Dogs: Not sure; Kids: Not sure

Common names

By language (72)
Arabic
نعناع فلفلي, النعناع البلدي, شكلس, فلفلي, نعناع, نعنع حريف
Armenian
Անանուխ
arz
نعناع فلفلى
Asturian
Menta × piperita, Menta piperita
ba
Бөтнөк үләне
Basque
Mendafin
Belarusian
Мята перцавая, Дзікая мята, Мята перная, Мята пятрова, Мята халодная, Палявая мята, Простая мята, Сабаччая мята
Cantonese
胡椒薄荷
Catalan
Menta pebrera, Herba-sana, Menta piperita
Chinese
胡椒薄荷, 辣薄荷, 椒薄荷
Croatian
Paprena metvica
csb
Krziżewé zelé
Czech
Máta peprná, Máta citronová
Danish
Pebermynte, Peber-Mynte
Dutch
Pepermunt
English
Peppermint
Esperanto
Pipromento
Estonian
Piparmünt, Vehvermints
Finnish
Piparminttu
French
Menthe poivrée, Menthe poivree
frr
Pöbermünt
Galician
Menta común
German
Pfefferminze, Pfeffer-Minze, Pfefferminz, Pfefferminztee
Greek
Μέντα
Haitian Creole
Ti bonm
Hebrew
נענע חריפה
Hindi
पिपरमिंट
hsb
Zahrodna mjetlička
Hungarian
Borsmenta
hyw
Անանուխ
Icelandic
Piparminta, Piparmenta
Indonesian
Pepermin
Italian
Menta piperita, Menta di pancalieri
Japanese
ペパーミント, セイヨウハッカ, ペッパーミント, 西洋薄荷
Kazakh
Burıştı jalbız, Бұрышты жалбыз, بۇرىشتى جالبىز
Korean
박하, 멘사 파이페리타, 페퍼민트
kw
Pubermenta
Latvian
Piparmētra, Piparmētras
lez
Пурни
Lithuanian
Pipirmėtė
Luxembourgish
Peffermanz, Peffermënz
Macedonian
Питомо нане, Луто нане
Malay
Pudina
Malayalam
കർപ്പൂരതുളസി
mzn
سرسم
Norwegian Bokmål
Peppermynte
nrm
P'per'mene, P'pèr'mène, Peperman, Pépermàn
olo
Persudušmanku
os
Судзаг битъына
Pashto
تور وېلنی, تور ويلني
Persian
نعنای فلفلی, سوسنبر, نعناع فلفلی
Polish
Mięta pieprzowa, Mięta lekarska
Portuguese
Hortelã-pimenta, Hortelã-de-folha-miúda
Romanian
Izmă bună
Russian
Мята перечная, Перечная мята
Serbian
Питома нана, Pitoma nana
Serbian (Latin)
Pitoma metvica, Pepermint, Pitoma nana
Sindhi
ڦودنو, مينٽا پائپريٽا, پيپرمنٽ
Slovak
Mäta pieporná, Feferminc
Slovenian
Poprova meta
Spanish
Menta piperita
Swedish
Pepparmynta
Tajik
Наъно
Tamil
மிளகுக்கீரை
Tatar
Борыч бөтнек
Thai
เปปเปอร์มินต์
Turkish
Bahçe nanesi, Biber nanesi
Ukrainian
М'ята перцева, Перцева м'ята
Urdu
مینٹا پائپریٹا, پودینے کا ست peppermint, کالی مرچ
Vietnamese
Bạc hà Âu, Rau bạc hà
Welsh
Mintys poeth
wuu
辣薄荷

Synonyms

  • Mentha aquatica f. piperita (L.) G.Mey.
  • Mentha aquatica var. langii (Geiger ex T.Nees) Alef.
  • Mentha aquatica var. piperita (L.) Alef.
  • Mentha balsamea Willd.
  • Mentha banatica Heinr.Braun
  • Mentha braousiana Pérard
  • Mentha canescens var. schultzii (Boutigny ex F.W.Schultz) Rouy
  • Mentha concinna Pérard
  • Mentha crispula Wender.
  • Mentha durandoana Malinv. ex Batt.
  • Mentha exaltata Heinr.Braun
  • Mentha fraseri Druce
  • Mentha glabra Bellardi ex Colla
  • Mentha glabrata Vahl
  • Mentha glomerata var. piperita (L.) Gray
  • Mentha hercynica Röhl.
  • Mentha heuffelii Heinr.Braun
  • Mentha hircina J.Fraser
  • Mentha hircina Hull
  • Mentha hirtescens Haw. ex Spach
  • Mentha hortensis Ten.
  • Mentha hortensis var. citrata Ten.
  • Mentha hudsoniana Heinr.Braun
  • Mentha kahirina Forssk.
  • Mentha langii Geiger ex T.Nees
  • Mentha maximilianea var. schultzii (Boutigny ex F.W.Schultz) Briq.
  • Mentha napolitana Ten.
  • Mentha nigricans Mill.
  • Mentha odora Salisb.
  • Mentha officinalis Hull
  • Mentha pimentum Nees ex Bluff & Fingerh.
  • Mentha piperita f. puberula Topitz
  • Mentha piperita f. rotundella Topitz
  • Mentha piperita var. balsamea (Willd.) Rouy
  • Mentha piperita var. beckeri Briq.
  • Mentha piperita var. braousiana (Pérard) Briq.
  • Mentha piperita var. calophylla Briq.
  • Mentha piperita var. calvifolia Briq.
  • Mentha piperita var. crispula (Wender.) Heinr.Braun
  • Mentha piperita var. durandoana (Malinv. ex Batt.) Briq.

and 22 more.

Flowers

In flower
July to September (from 105 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Lifespan
Perennial
In the US and Canada
Alaska: introduced, Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native, Puerto Rico: native

Photos

More in Mentha

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.