Nepeta cataria

Catnip

Family: Lamiaceae · Type: perennial · Not Native

Catnip is a naturalized perennial found in the California Floristic Province in moist, generally shaded areas at elevations below 1,300 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces white flowers with purple-spotted lower lips in small clusters, typically 6 to 10 millimeters long. Growing with short-hairy to grayish stems up to 1.5 meters tall, it develops a robust and somewhat sprawling habit. Its leaves are wide-lanceolate to ovate, 1.5 to 7.5 centimeters long with lobed bases and crenate to serrate margins, appearing short-haired on the upper surface and densely covered with appressed hairs underneath. The plant's distinctively aromatic foliage and fuzzy texture make it a characteristic member of disturbed or semi-shaded habitats.

Habitat: Moist, generally shaded areas

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: < 1300 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

California counties: Siskiyou, San Bernardino, Mendocino, Los Angeles, El Dorado, Santa Clara, Plumas, Calaveras, Alpine, Inyo, Shasta, Lassen, Lake, Humboldt, Sonoma, Napa, San Luis Obispo, Modoc, Del Norte, Yolo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Mariposa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.