Nepeta nepetella

Nepeta nepetella, common name lesser cat-mint,[2] is a low-growing species of catnip belonging to the family Lamiaceae. It is native to France, Spain, Italy, Algeria, and Morocco.[1][3]

Subspecies[1]
  1. Nepeta nepetella subsp. aragonensis (Lam.) Nyman - Spain, Algeria, Morocco
  2. Nepeta nepetella subsp. laciniata (Willk.) Aedo - Sierra Nevada of southern Spain
  3. Nepeta nepetella subsp. murcica (Guirão ex Willk.) Aedo - Morocco, southern Spain
  4. Nepeta nepetella subsp. nepetella - Pyrenees, western Alps, + Apennines of Spain, France, Italy

Nepeta nepetella
Nepeta nepetella at Orto Botanico dell'Università di Genova
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Nepeta
Species:
N. nepetella
Binomial name
Nepeta nepetella
Synonyms[1]
  • Cataria nepetella (L.) Moench
  • Glechoma nepetella (L.) Kuntze
  • Nepeta aragonensis Lam.
  • Nepeta amethystina Desf. ex Poir.
  • Nepeta civitiana Pau
  • Nepeta ceballosii Vicioso & Pau
  • Nepeta almeriensis Sennen
  • Nepeta hieronymi Sennen
  • Nepeta murcica Guirão ex Willk.
  • Nepeta imbricata Lag. ex Spreng.
  • Nepeta mallophora Webb & Heldr.
  • Nepeta angustifolia Mill.
  • Nepeta lanceolata Lam.
  • Nepeta graveolens Vill.
  • Nepeta humilis Salisb.
  • Nepeta arragonensis Benth.
  • Nepeta delphinensis Mutel
  • Nepeta longicaulis Dufour
  • Cataria tenuifolia Bubani
  • Nepeta catalaunica Sennen

Description

Nepeta nepetella can reach a height of 40–80 centimetres (16–31 in). This perennial very variable plant has usually green crenate leaves and produces in summer spikes with bluish-violet small flowers about 1–81.2 centimetres (0.39–31.97 in) long.[4][5]

Uses

Nepetella, as it is commonly called (other names include nepeta, nepitella) is used in Tuscan cooking, often for mushrooms and artichokes.[6][7] Due to the difficulty in obtaining nepetella, many recipes have been rewritten to contain oregano and mint.

References
  1. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant families
  2. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. "Nepeta nepetella [Gattaia minore] - Flora Italiana". luirig.altervista.org.
  4. "Home". Alpine Garden Society.
  5. ondrej.zicha(at)gmail.com, Ondrej Zicha. "BioLib: Biological library". www.biolib.cz.
  6. "Nepetella". www.ortoricci.it. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  7. "Mentuccia, nepetella o nepitella? Facciamo un po' di chiarezza". Valfrutta (in Italian). Retrieved 14 May 2020.
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