Catnip

Catnip
Catnip flowers
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Lamiaceae
Genus:	Nepeta
Species:	N. cataria
Binomial name
Nepeta cataria L.
Synonyms[1]
Cataria vulgaris Glechoma cataria Nepeta vulgaris

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 30–100 cm (12–39 in) 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.

Catnip is named for the intense attraction about two-thirds of cats have to the plant due to the terpene nepetalactone, which acts as a natural insect repellent and induces playful, euphoric behavior in cats. It is used in herbal teas for its sedative and relaxant properties; it is drought-tolerant and deer-resistant.