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Nepeta cataria, commonly known as catnip and catmint, is a species of the genus Nepeta in the mint family, native plant 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 plant 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 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 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.
The leaves are in appearance, white in color due to being covered in fine hairs, especially so on the lower side of the leaves. They are attached in pairs to opposite sides of the stems. Leaf shapes vary from cordate (heart-shaped), Deltoid leaf (triangular), to Ovate leaf (egg-shaped). They are attached by and have a length of and wide. The edges of the leaves are coarsely crenate to serrate leaf, having a wavy, rounded edge to have asymmetrical teeth like those of a saw that point forward.
The flowers are in loose groups in an inflorescence. The lowest flowers are more widely spaced and at the end more tightly packed into a spike. The inflorescences lie at the end of the branches and may be long, with inconspicuous . A single plant may produce several thousand flowers, but at any given time, less than 10% of them will be in full bloom. The flowers themselves are somewhat small and inconspicuous, but quite fragrant. They are bilaterally symmetrical and measure long. The petals are off-white to pink and usually dotted with purple-pink spots. They are with the upper lip having two lobes and the lower one much wider with a scalloped edge.
The fruit is a Pyrena that is nearly triquetrous, three sided with sharp edges and concave sides, and overall shaped like an egg. They measure approximately . Each nutlet may contain between one and four seeds. They are dark reddish-brown in color with two white spots near the base.
| Table of Synonyms ! Name ! Year ! Rank ! Notes | |||
| Calamintha albiflora | 1904 | species | = het. |
| Cataria tomentosa | 1782 | species | = het. opus utique oppr. |
| Cataria vulgaris | 1789 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Glechoma cataria | 1891 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Glechoma macrura | 1891 | species | = het. |
| Nepeta americana | 1789 | species | = het. nom. illeg. |
| Nepeta bodinieri | 1904 | species | = het. |
| Nepeta cataria var. canescens | 1903 | variety | = het. nom. nud. |
| Nepeta cataria var. citriodora | 1825 | variety | = het. |
| Nepeta cataria f. laurentii | 1951 | form | = het. |
| Nepeta ceretana | 1931 | species | = het. |
| Nepeta citriodora | 1827 | species | = het. |
| Nepeta laurentii | 1934 | species | = het. |
| Nepeta macrura | 1825 | species | = het. |
| Nepeta minor | 1768 | species | = het. |
| Nepeta mollis | 1796 | species | = het. nom. illeg. |
| Nepeta ruderalis | 1879 | species | = het. nom. illeg. |
| Nepeta tomentosa | 1789 | species | = het. |
| Nepeta vulgaris | 1779 | species | ≡ hom. nom. superfl. |
The first usage of catmint was in about 1300 in the form kattesminte. It continues to be used for Nepeta cataria, though it is also used for other species in the genus and the Nepeta as a genus. In Middle English it was also called cat-wort, but this ceased by about 1500.
Another name with a medieval origin was nep, neps, or nepe. Originating about 1475, it was more common but has become a regional name for catnip used in East Anglia.
In medieval England it was known by various names in botanical manuscripts. It was called calamentum minus and nasturcium mureligi. It was also called nepeta or variants, but other species or genuses like the dead-nettles ( Lamium) were also sometimes called this. It was also sometimes called collocasia, but this was more often applied to horse-mints especially Mentha longifolia.
In Asia its range extends from Turkey into Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. Eastward it continues to Iran and Pakistan and the western Himalayas, but no further into India. It is native to all of Central Asia including Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kirghistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan and also extends to western Siberia. Its native status in China is disputed as it also is in the Russian Far East, Nepal, Korea, and Japan.
In Africa it may grow in Morocco, but this report is doubtful. It also grows as introduced species on the island of Java. In Australia it has been reported in the states of South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania. It grows on both the north and south islands of New Zealand, having been introduced there in 1870.
In North America it grows in Canada from the island of Newfoundland to British Columbia, but not in Labrador or the three northern Canadian territories. In the United States it is present in 48 states, only absent from Florida and Hawaii.
In South America it grows in many parts of Argentina as well as in Colombia.
It grows in a variety of soils from clay to sandy or even shallow and rocky. It requires good drainage to prevent it from becoming waterlogged.
The plant is Xerophyte and deer-resistant. It can be a repellent for certain insects, including and . Catnip is best grown in full sunlight and grows as a loosely branching, low perennial.
The cultivar Nepeta cataria 'Citriodora', also known as lemon catmint, is known for the strong lemon-scent of its leaves.
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With domestic cats, N. cataria is used as a recreational substance for the enjoyment of pet cats, and catnip and catnip-laced products designed for use with domesticated cats are available to consumers. Common behaviors cats display when they sense the bruised leaves or stems of catnip are rubbing on the plant, rolling on the ground, pawing at it, licking it, and chewing it. Consuming much of the plant is followed by drooling, sleepiness, anxiety, leaping about, and . Some cats growl, meow, scratch, or bite at the hand holding it. The main response period after exposure is generally between 5 and 15 minutes, after which olfactory fatigue usually sets in. About one-third of cats are not affected by catnip. The behavior is hereditary.
Cats detect nepetalactone through their olfactory epithelium, not through their vomeronasal organ. At the olfactory epithelium, the nepetalactone binds to one or more olfactory receptors.
A 1962 Pedigree chart analysis of 26 cats in a Siamese breeding colony suggested that the catnip response was caused by a Mendelian-dominant gene. A 2011 pedigree analysis of 210 cats in two breeding colonies (taking into account measurement error by repeated testing) showed no evidence for Mendelian patterns of inheritance but demonstrated heritability of for catnip response behavior, indicating a polygenic liability threshold model.Todd 1962, "Inheritance of the catnip response in domestic cats"Villani 2011, "Heritability and Characteristics of Catnip Response in Two Domestic Cat Populations"
A study published in January 2021 suggests that felines are specifically attracted to the nepetalactone and nepetalactol, present in catnip and silver vine, respectively.
Cats younger than six months might not exhibit behavioral change to catnip. Up to a third of cats are genetically immune to catnip effects but may respond in a similar way to other plants such as valerian ( Valeriana officinalis) root and leaves, silver vine or matatabi ( Actinidia polygama), and Tatarian honeysuckle ( Lonicera tatarica) wood.
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