Forty-eight horizontal (landscape aspect) images of Peppermint. Peppermint, Mentha piperita, Mentha x piperita is believed to be a hybrid between spearmint Mentha spicata and water mint Mentha aquatica. Commercial cultivation of peppermint began in England about 1750. English production peaked by 1850, after which American producers began to provide competition. The first peppermint commercial production in the United States was in the 1790s in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Peppermint is now produced commercially, mostly for essential oil production in Indiana, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Today, peppermint oil is valued as much for its therapeutic potential as it is as a flavoring ingredient.