Nepeta cataria
Nepeta cataria, commonly known as catnip and catmint, is a species of the genus Nepeta in the mint family, native to southern and eastern Europe, northern parts of the Middle East, and Central Asia. It is widely naturalized in northern Europe, New Zealand, and North America. The common name catmint can also refer to the genus as a whole.
AI overview
Nepeta cataria, commonly known as catnip or catmint, is a plant from the mint family that originally comes from southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, though it now grows wild in many other parts of the world including northern Europe, New Zealand, and North America. The plant is notable enough that its common names are used not only for this specific species but sometimes for the entire genus of Nepeta plants.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Species
Catnip
SPECIES
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderLamiales
- FamilyLamiaceae
Native toAfghanistan, Albania, Altay, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, China North-Central, China South-Central, Corse, East European Russia
Observations24,400
Common Name: catnip
via GBIF · Kew POWO
Article
13 sectionsContents
- Description
- Taxonomy
- Synonyms
- Names
- Range and habitat
- Uses
- Cultivation
- Biological control
- As an insect repellent
- Effect of ingestion on humans
- Effect on felines
- References
- External links
Nepeta cataria, commonly known as catnip and catmint, is a species of the genus Nepeta in the mint family, native to southern and eastern Europe, northern parts of the Middle East, and Central Asia. It is widely naturalized in northern Europe, New Zealand, and North America. The common name catmint can also refer to the genus as a whole.
It is a short-lived perennial mint-family herb growing tall with square stems, grayish canescent leaves that vary in shape and have serrated edges, fragrant small bilabiate flowers arranged in raceme spikes, and produces small three-sided nutlets containing one to four seeds. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, with no subspecies but multiple botanical synonyms, and its name—derived from medieval Latin—reflects its historical association with cats and various traditional names dating back to medieval England.