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Catnip seed

Catnip

Catnip is a perennial plant of the labiform family Nepeta genus, which has a pleasant smell that can make cats excited, and the common names are camphor grass, cool mint, balsam, small mint, etc. 

Stem strong, base lignified, white pubescent. Leaves ovate to triangular heart shaped, with coarsely crested or toothed edges. Inflorescence cymose, outer calyx white pubescent, corolla white. Nutlet oval, grayish brown. Flowering period from July to September, fruit period from September to October.

Catnip is native to temperate regions of Europe, Southwest Asia and Central Asia. It spreads from Central and southern Europe through Afghanistan and east to Japan, where it is wild in the Americas and southern Africa. Catnip is mainly distributed in Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Henan and other places in China. Most of them are born next to the house or in the scrub, and the altitude is generally not more than 2500 meters. Catnip likes warm climate, sufficient light, semi-shade tolerance, drought tolerance, suitable for alkaline soil, cold tolerance and soil pH value, fertility and other conditions are not high requirements.

Catnip has a spicy smell, can repel mosquitoes, can be used as food seasoning, etc. Catnip shoots and leaves can also be eaten, can be used as an auxiliary dish in cold dishes. Catnip taste hot, cool, can dissipate wind and clear heat, blood circulation and hemostasis. Catnip florets are lavender and have a special smell. They can be used to decorate the garden or decorate the rock garden. Catnip can be developed as a mosquito repellent, pet toy supplies, daily chemical products flavor additives and other products.

Morphological characteristics

Catnip is a perennial. Stem strong, base woody, multibranched, 40-150 cm tall, base subquadrilateral, upper obtuse quadrilateral, shallowly sulcate, white pubescent. Leaf ovate to triangular cardiform, 2.5-7 

cm long, 2.1-4.7 cm wide, apex obtuse to acute, base cordate to truncate, margin coarsely crested or toothed, grassy, yellowish-green above, covered with very short stiff hairs, slightly white below, pubescent 

but dense in veins, lateral veins 3-4 pairs, oblique ascending, slightly concave above, raised below; The petiole is 0.7-3 cm long and thin. Inflorescence cymose, lower axillary and upper axillary in continuous or 

discontinuous composition, more loose or very dense terminal branching panicle, cymose bifurcated branches; Bracts foliate, or upper smaller and needle-like, bracts, bracteoles subulate, fine. Calyx tubular 

when flowering, about 6 mm long, 1.2 mm diameter, outer white pubescent, inner surface only sparsely hairy, teeth conical, 1.5-2 mm long, posterior teeth longer, posterior calyx enlarged amphoraceous, 

longitudinal ribs very clear. Corolla white, lower lip purplish, outer white pubescent, inner face pubescent at throat, ca. 7.5 mm long, crown tube very thin, ca. 0.3 mm in diameter, spreading abruptly into a broad 

throat, crown eave bilabial, upper lip short, ca. 2 mm long, ca.3 mm wide, apex shallow concave, lower lip 3-lobed, middle lobe subcircular, ca.3 mm long, ca. 4 mm wide, base cordate, Margin coarsely toothed, 

lateral lobes lobed. Stamen hidden, filaments flat, hairless. Style linear, apex 2-isoblobed. Flower plate cup-shaped, lobes conspicuous. Ovary glabrous. Fruit nutlet ovate, trigonous, grayish brown, ca. 1.7 mm long 

and 1 mm diameter.

Distribution range

World distribution: Catnip is native to temperate regions of Europe, Southwest Asia and Central Asia. It now ranges from Central and southern Europe through Afghanistan and east to Japan, where it is wild in the 

Americas and southern Africa.

Distribution in China: Catnip is produced in northwest China, North China, Central China and eastern Southwest China, mainly in Xinjiang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, Hubei, Guizhou, Sichuan and 

Yunnan.

Growing environment

Catnip is found in Eurasia and is now cultivated all over the world. Catnip is wild on the hillside, the edge of the pond and the brush, and the altitude is generally not more than 2500 meters. Catnip likes warm 

climate, sufficient light, semi-shade tolerance, drought tolerance, suitable for alkaline soil, cold tolerance and soil pH value, fertility and other conditions are not high requirements. Catnip is very adaptable, love 

the sun, grow in warm and humid environment, the soil requirements are not strict, high temperature and rainy season afraid of water, short-term water will cause death.

Growth habit

Catnip growth temperature is 20-25℃, seedlings can withstand low temperatures of about 0℃. Schizonepeta is resistant to high temperature and cold, but freezing damage can occur below -2℃. Catnip seedling 

requires moist soil, fear of drought and water shortage. In the seedling stage, it likes dry environment, and the growth is poor if there is much rain. Flowering period from July to September, fruit period from 

September to October.

Mode of reproduction

Natural reproduction

Catnip breeds in the wild mostly as seeds. Catnip flowers are bisexual. Pollination is mainly by insects such as bumblebees, which can help deliver pollen as they forage on flowers.

Artificial breeding

The artificial breeding methods of catnip include sowing and cutting before taking flowers.

Seeding and propagation

Catnip seed life is 1 year, the optimum germination temperature is 15-20 degrees Celsius, Nepeta has strong vitality, heat and disease resistance, strong adaptability, spring and autumn can be sown. With spring 

sowing as the best, in the whole growing period by disease and insects less harm. Choose sufficient sunshine, good ventilation, good drainage of sandy soil is appropriate, base fertilizer, mixed 2 kg per cubic meter 

slow-release fertilizer, crush large soil clods, repeated fine raking, leveling, so that soil particles fine and flat, conducive to seedling emergence, both sides open a good drainage ditch, and then lateral in the bed 

surface shallow ditch. Direct seeding or seedling transplanting can be used for cultivation. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in warm water and mixed with fine sand. When sowing, the seeds are evenly scattered 

in the ditch. Spring sowing should be immediately sown after the soil thaws in early spring, because of the use of seedling transplantation, if there are dead seedlings, should be timely replacement. When the 

seedling height is 10-15 cm, the soil should be loosened and weeds should be removed in combination with thinning, and the ploughing should be shallow and the weeding should be done 1-2 times. Water properly

 after sowing to keep the soil moist; After seeding and emergence, it is advisable to apply liquid fertilizer once or twice a week, and pour bactericidal liquid once after seedling transplantation to prevent root infection 

by fungi. Keep moist at seedling stage; The drought-resistant ability of adult plants is enhanced, waterlogging is avoided, and ditches should be dug in time to drain in rainy season.

Cutting propagation

Catnip can be propagated by cuttings of pre-flower shoots. Direct cutting in the ground or cutting in the greenhouse pan are two schemes, both of which need to be planted in a specific substrate to ensure a high 

survival rate of seedlings, requiring loose soil in the substrate. Generally, the appropriate time for cuttings is in July-August, the time is more concentrated, the survival rate is higher, and the picking should follow the 

principle of picking and inserting. After the cuttings are ready, the cuttings are cut quickly after dipping in root powder solution to prevent the cuttings from affecting root and survival due to external factors such as 

water loss.

Primary value

Economic value

Because the essential oil and active ingredients extracted from catnip can repel mosquitoes and make cats feel happy, catnip can be developed as a mosquito repellent, pet toy supplies, daily chemical products flavor 

additives and other products. The volatile oil of catnip has good fumigation and contact activity against the moth, repellent activity against Aedes aegypti, Anopheles Stefani and Culex quinquefasciatus, and has good 

egg-laying inhibition activity and acute toxicity activity against thrips occidentalis.

Medicinal value

Catnip whole herb can be used as medicine, spicy taste, cool. It can dissipate wind and clear heat, promote blood circulation and stop bleeding. The symptoms include wind and heat, headache and sore throat, measles, 

bleeding, bleeding, bruising, sore and sore, poisonous snake bite.

Edible value

Catnip whole grass has a spicy smell, can go fishy, at the same time rich in nutrition, rich in a variety of trace elements and vitamins, can be used as cold dishes, aquatic delicacies, soup food seasoning, make the taste 

more delicious, its shoots and leaves can also be eaten.

Ornamental value

Catnip flowers lavender, and have a special smell, suitable for ground cover plants, can also decorate the garden flower border, or embellish the rock garden.

Effects on cats

Catnip has the characteristics of intoxicant and excitement of cats, cats will shake their heads, rub their jaws and cheeks, roll and other abnormal behaviors after smelling, licking and chewing schizonepeta. Catnip 

produces nepetalactone, a volatile metabolite thought to mimic feline pheromones, and catnip causes cats to produce a response similar to that of females in heat, which may be one of the reasons catnip excites cats. 

Another reason may be that catnip's repellent chemicals and smell protect cats from herbivorous insects.