Spearmint, or spear mint (Mentha spicata) (also known as Mentha viridis) is a species of mint native to much of Europe and Asia (Middle East, Himalayas, China etc.), and naturalized in parts of northern and western Africa, North America, and South America, as well as various oceanic islands. Subspecies 1. \n* Mentha spicata subsp. condensata (Briq.) Greuter & Burdet - Mediterranean region; naturalized in New Zealand 2. \n* Mentha spicata subsp. spicata - most of species range