By Philip Evich
Aug 8 2019
Calling all cat lovers! As I was digitizing plants for the Southern Rocky Mountains Digitization Project, I came across a specimen of Nepeta cataria, or catnip, a member of the mint family, Lamiaceae. A quick tip for identifying the mint family is a square stem—with 4 sides. Catnip is a native of Europe and is now a naturalized weed and popular friend in herb gardens across North America (Grognet, 1990).
Catnip is most popular due to the plant constituent nepetalactone (Grognet, 1990). Cats will respond to this primary compound of the essential oil and exhibit a behavioral response: sniffing, licking, chewing, and head shaking; rubbing and rolling; and outbursts of vocalizations. It is noted that not every cat will respond to the plant because the response is passed down as an autosomal dominant trait (Grognet, 1990).
But what if you wanted to try some catnip? Interestingly enough, catnip is documented as a folk medicine for humans but for a much different reason. Although not clinically proven, catnip has been reported to “treat nervous headaches, hysteria… infantile colic” and “to reduce swellings” as a poultice. Studies in the 1960’s also report “it makes people feel happy, contented, and intoxicated, like marijuana” (Grognet, 1990). Maybe this herb isn’t just for cats after all.
Catnip has also been noted to repel mosquitoes and flies while it attracts the lacewing insect which preys on aphids, working as a biological control (Bliss, 2007; Schultz, 2006). However you enjoy catnip, go out and pet a cat—it's right there in the name Nepeta cataria.