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]

Nepeta nepetella
Nepeta nepetella at Orto Botanico dell'Università di Genova
Scientific classification Edit this 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
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

Description

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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 1–1.2 centimetres (0.39–0.47 in) long.[4][5]

Uses

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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

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  1. ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant families
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ^ "Nepeta nepetella [Gattaia minore] - Flora Italiana". luirig.altervista.org.
  4. ^ "Home". Alpine Garden Society.
  5. ^ Zicha, Ondrej. "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.