catnip

not listed

NNA - No Status Rank

SNA - No Status Rank

not listed

FACU - Facultative upland

FACU - Facultative upland

FACU - Facultative upland

Catnip is a 12″ to 40″ tall, erect, perennial forb that rises on usually multiple stems from a taproot and fibrous roots.

The stems are erect, light green, leafy, 4-angled, and branched above the middle. They are densely covered with short, fine, white, nonglandular, downward-pointing hairs.

The leaves are opposite, egg-shaped to triangular, 1″ to 2¾″ long, and ¾″ to 1¾″ wide. They are on slender, ¼″ to 1¼″ long leaf stalks. They become smaller and shorter stalked as they ascend the stem. The blades are heart-shaped to wedge-shaped at the base and taper to a point at the tip. The upper surface is green and moderately covered with short, fine, white hairs. The lower surface is grayish-green and densely hairy to almost woolly with short, fine, gray hairs. The margins are coarsely toothed with rounded teeth. The leaves are noticeably fragrant with an herbal, not minty, scent.

The inflorescence is a dense, branched, interrupted cluster (panicle) at the end of the stem and branches. The panicles are ¾″ to 2⅜″ long and ½″ to 1½″ wide. The flowers are arranged in dense whorls that are subtended by hairless, broadly egg-shaped, abruptly tapered, inconspicuous bracts.

The flowers are ⅓″ to ⅔″ long. There are 5 sepals, 5 petals, and 4 stamens. The sepals are green and are fused at the base into a 3 ⁄16″ to ¼″ long calyx tube then separated at the tip into 5 teeth. The petals are dull white. They are fused at the base into a slender corolla tube then separated at the tip into 2 widely spreading lips. The upper lip has 2 lobes. The lower lip has 2 small lateral lobes and a large central lobe that is sometimes notched. The lower lip has many small purple spots. The stamens have white to pinkish-white filaments and purple anthers. They extend just outside of the corolla tube.

The fruit is an egg-shaped, reddish-brown, 1-seeded nutlet.

Catnip is easily identified In the early spring. It appears as a dense cluster of grayish-green, fuzzy, mint-like leaves. Identification can be confirmed by crushing one of the leaves to release the characteristic, non-minty odor.

12″ to 40″

White with pink spots

Moist to dry. Disturbed sites. Full or partial sun.

July to August

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 22, 28, 29, 30.

Native to Asia and Europe. Introduced, cultivated, escaped cultivation, and now naturalized in North America.

Common

Plant in Early Spring

Inflorescence

Flower Head

Leaves