Minthostachys Species, Muna, Tipo, Tipollo, Poleo

Hello, I'm looking for some seeds of Minthostachys mollis. Can anyone help me ? Thanks,
Elena

I am looking for some fresh seeds of Minthostachys mollis. Can anyone help me ? Thanks
Duncan
Scotland

I have just returned from a trip to Peru. While visiting islands on Lake Titicaca, we enjoyed picking Muña from bushes that were growing...Read More in the wild. It was invigorating as a tea and even just to rub between our hands and breathe the aroma. Upon our return to Dallas, I started searching for Muña. The tea is okay, but nothing like that made directly from plant cuttings. I would love to try to cultivate Muña, but don't know where to get seeds or plants. Can you help me out?

My husband and I are avid gardeners and have been replacing our lawn with plants. We love growing perennials, herbs, natives, and rare plants! I am craving the smell and taste of fresh Muña.

This plant is revered as a medicinal and culinary herb in the Andean regions of Peru and Bolivia, growing at a wide range of altitude. As...Read More there is no commercial cultivation, native populations are overexploited. Further exacerbating the picture is the realization that procuring viable seed outside of that region is very difficult. Obtaining reliable cultivation information is equally frustrating. M. mollis tends to be a catch-all identification for various members of Minthostachys, with at least some misidentified plants being M. verticillata (a.k.a. "Peperina"), which is indigenous to Argentina.

About 50% germination rates were observed from germination in a moist, peat-based germinating mix under grow lights. Seedlings did little for about 30 days, then began rapid growth.

The plant seems to respond favorably to fertilizer, and succeeds (so far) when grown in a moist, but well drained potting mix, with direct morning sun and indirect light thereafter. Direct sun in hot summer climates stresses this species quickly, so warm summers demand shady conditions. The plant sprawls, but will climb if given support. Warm humid summers invite fungal infections, to which this plant seems unfortunately, particularly susceptible.

The foliage is powerfully aromatic, perhaps best being described as a cross between pennyroyal and peppermint.