Background: The genus name Nepeta is possibly related to the Italian town of Nepi. It was cultivated in classical Greek and Roman times for human use, and for charming their cats. By 1265 it was common in herb gardens throughout England where it was dried and also used fresh as a nutritional seasoning herb. Prior to the importation of camilla sinensis, true teas, from China, catnip was the familiar and popular beverage of the daily, twice, thrice or, even, hourly tea-time ritual of pre-Elizabethan England.
In Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter's charming children’s tale, Peter’s mother gives him a tea of fennel, catnip and chamomile, to soothe his stomachache.
Catnip is combined with rose petals in love sachets.
Introduced to the Americas, catnip became an important commercial crop in the United States by 1796.
Catnip was combined with damiana leaf and the smoke inhaled to produce euphoria with visual hallucinations (partially due to the nepetalactone content of Nepeta cataria.)
Catnip leaf can be used to make a natural, light yellow dye.
Description: Often reaching a height of more than 3 feet catnip is an herbaceous perennial, although some are annuals with sturdy stems and opposing heart-shape green to gray-green leaves. Flowers are white, blue, pink or lilac, occurring in several clusters toward the tip of the stem. Flowers are tubular shaped, spotted with tiny purple dots. This genus, native to Europe, Africa and Asia, contains nearly 250 species of flowering plants. Widely naturalized in North America catnip is well known to contain a behavior modifying constituent that affects domestic and wild members of the cat family.
The dried herb can be added to soups and stews.
