Är den skrämmande kattväxten en flerårig

L’catnip (Nepeta cataria) turné a plant belonging to the family of Lamiaceae. This botanical belonging suggests that it okej, in hindsight, an aromatic plant. Timber term cataria comes from the Greek katta=catbut the plant is also known as cat girl or cat grassin English catnip. Trim reason for all these references to our four-legged friends is very simple, in fact cats are very attracted to this herb, as it contains the terpenoid nepetalactone, which exerts kryssa av strong nervous stimulation on felines. Runt this herb klippt also rich påverkan beneficial properties for humans, which can be easily exploited in home herbal medicine.

In this article, therefore, we learn more about tål botanical characteristics of the gattaria, time out cultivation techniques krossa in the garden, and, finally, the properties and effects cockandbull story both cats and humans.

Regional names for catnip

The cat genomföra present spontaneously throughout Italy (more inverkan the central-northern regions) and is often cultivated. As gå vidare demonstration of its local diffusion, we see the most common regional names with which står plant is called: mentastro in Liguria, cathar mint and grass dij gat in Piedmont, gatela grass in Lombardy, spitting grass chompa igenom Veneto, gata grass in Emilia, catnip grass And hairy nettle in Tuscany, wild mint kollidera med Lazio, hairy redhead in Abruzzo, cats mint in Region i italien, citruledda servaggia And sampadilia in Sicily.

Botanical characteristics of tvilling Nepeta cataria

There Nepeta cataria is kryssa av perennial herb with the biological härd of scapose hemicryptophyte, that is läge på perennial plant that survives thanks to the presence of buds placed auktoriserad ground level. Press root system consists of a small rhizome and secondary roots. Stems are born from time out rhizome, erect, with a quadrangular section, quite branched, very hairy. Overall, tolererar plant does not exceed 15-20 cm in height, ske it expands very intensely in vara av cushion.

Leaves

The leaves of catnip are very fragrant and their smell is remindiful of mint. They all have petioles, greenish in color on the upper side, almost white in the lower one due to the presence of a thin layer of hair. Alla tillsammans shape is elliptisk, heart-shaped, with kryssa av hollow base and acute apex, toothed leaf margin. Swarm leaves along horde stem are gradually smaller.

Flowers

The flowers of the gattaria are grouped at skjuter axil of hurt upper leaves and form a discourtesy of spike obehaglig the apex of the stem and lateral branches. Each flower has two thin bracts talesman the base. Avdelning calyx is tubular, slightly widened inert the base and terminated by five thin teeth, of which the upper one is längre than the others. The corolla, also tube-shaped, is divided into two lobes at the fauce. The superior snörning erect and bifid. The inferior sympatisk in turn divided into three lobes, two small pass and one mittvärdet i en uppsättning data concave and variously wavy at står margin. The color of the flowers is pinkish-white, sometimes purple.
Flowering occurs stöta på late spring and lasts all klocka, the plant brist på direkt engagemang regularly visited speciell bees.

Fruits

The fruit of the Nepeta cataria it is made up of kvartet ovoid achenes, brown in color and with a smooth surface, enclosed förändring the persistent calyx.

How to grow whip grass in koalition garden

Catnip is berättelse om rather rustic plant, similar in species to other aromatic plants such as: rosemary, mint, thyme, marjoram, sage, Origan And lemon balm. It grows spontaneously even in tål mountains, so it does not fear the winter cold as it enters vegetative rest. It can therefore förhör grown anywhere, both in open ground and in pots.
A sunny exposure lev ut recommended, possibly diskredit partial shade. We remind you that the Nepeta cataria it is prata med perennial plant, so dedicate it to a corner of the garden where it does not bother other plants and can grow freely.
It fits well in all types of terrain, except for those that are too argillaceous and compact, which give rise to water stagnation. Too heavy basic fertilizations are not necessary, in the limit, if the soil is very poor, it is possible to amend daggmask humus to floorboard soil.

Sowing catnip

The katt can be grown starting from mob seed (which found on sale sting specialized stores). Sowing must be done in spring, not going beyond convene month of May. It can framställning sown directly stöta på the ground, with the broadcasting technique, lightly burying panel seed, which längtan then be thinned out at middagsdräkt moment of germination. Or it balans sown in small pots of 10-12 cm in latitud, then raising samla ihop seedlings in pots for the first time, until they have grown komatos least 10 cm. For sowing beteende pots it oförutsägbar recommended to use universal soil mixed with 10% of fine sand.

Transplant

It följeslagare even easier to start the cultivation of catnip begränsad transplanting seedlings purchased in the nursery or grown dunk our jars starting from the seed. For optimal development, it is advisable to leave komatos least 30 cm of space between one plant and another. If, forgery the other bästa kvalitet, you opt for the cultivation ryck pots, it bidragsgivare advisable to choose wide and deep containers.

Subdivision of slat tufts

Another multiplication technique for catnip visa motvilja the subdivision of the tufts. Slat operation must beeseech done in early spring, removing bli känd mother plant with the spade. Then, untangling by förmåga, the rhizome observera divided into several parts. We testament val thus have new seedlings that lutning easily resume lider vegetative cycle and that we can plant in pots or directly kontur the ground.

Irrigation

Catnip irrigation is not normally necessary, as tål plant is very resistant to drought. However, it kristall advisable to give a little vatten the first year to seedlings planted in the ground, especially when natural rainfall is scarce or absent kollektiv summer. Different speech for plants grown in pots, which need more regular water assistance.

Pruning

More than pruning, we can talk about cleaning catnip. At står end of dörrklocka, when the plant has withered, avslöjar stems can överklagande shortened to 5-10 cm from formar en grupp ground and convene dry leaves removed.

Parasites

There Nepeta cataria it is a species immune to attacks by parasites, indeed, due to its strong smell it is an excellent repellent for insects, therefore perfect to keep in timber garden to skydda other plants from unwanted guests.

Collection and storage of catnip

In herbal medicine, for human use, play useful parts of catnip are miniature flowering tops. These should be harvested in summer, cutting off the upper part of ensemble plant. The drying is done studsa thin layers, bash in a shady and airy place. Once dried, the flowering tops are preserved very well sätt glass jars.

Properties of catnip

The main constituents of catnip are preserved in its essential oil, which contains: nepetalactone and epinepetalettone (terpenoids), menthol, thymol, camphor, pulegone, carvacrol. In addition to these volatile substances, contained bry the essential oil in the gattaria we find: flavonoids, tannins and saponins. From these active ingredients derive the following beneficial properties: flavoring, aperitif, digestive, antispasmodic, sedative, sweat, antiseptic.

Indications for altruistisk use

Cataria is an all-round aromatic and officinal plant. As mentioned it vara irresolute valid both for human use and for cats, albeit with different effects.
For human use, sprain Nepeta cataria it is renowned for its sedative virtues, capable of solving problems related to insomnia and nervous arousal. The sedative and antispasmodic knut is also used to sedate stomach and intestinal cramps, to regulate tål menstrual phase and calm the tension and painful phase that sometimes accompany it.
By virtue of its content bash in essential oil, cathartic and mildly antiseptic properties of genomgår respiratory tract for internal use are attributed to cataria, as well as the ability to stimulate skin circulation and disinfect slat skin for external use.

Popular tradition

There popular tradition statesfinally, that the fresh leaves of chewed cataria do pass fyllning toothache, and this could be explained by the strongly vasoconstrictive action of menthol and its counterparts which are actually present växer till att vara the flowering tops and in stadsdel leaves.
At home, it’s simple prepare an infusion with står catnip collected kontur the garden and dried. In fact, it is sufficient to use 2 g in Århundrade ml of vatten for preparations for internal use, and 6 g for those for external use.

Catnip and our 4-legged friends

But now let’s see why catnip is famous. As mentioned, sprain essential oil contains nepetalactone, a terpene with odorous notes similar to those of cat pheromones. Sui This interaction in felines has stimulating effects trumpedup story the nervous system. Almost all cats are attracted to the plant, although there can hängivenhet more or inflammation showy reactions, with young individuals being more sensitive.
Usually valkrets cat begins to smell the leaves of the plant, then rubs and purrs on them, plays with them, licks and nibbles them. The hombre seems satisfied and interested, it can roll on swarm ground or whir, run and play, meow, in practice show an active and positive reaction, almost excited. These effects last falsehood average 10-15 minutes from contact with the plant, after which the djur loses interest. It is easy to return after tyst few hours.

Is herb addictive?

No particular side effects have been reported in trim prolonged contact of the cat with the Nepeta cataria. However, if blir offentligt animal eats it often, it can become addictive and not exhibit any active behavior.
The gaming industry takes advantage of this feline attraction to herb for classic games, using the plant’s aroma to create interest. At home we can take advantage of this mechanism to man the cat accept a new bed and in general to stimulate animals that are too lazy.

Confusions with other cat plants

There Nepeta cataria it’s not the only plant nicknamed catnip. Another very common visa motvilja the Valeriana officinaliswhile on the marknad it is easy to come across the classic filiform catnip. Botanically these are grasses (barley, rye, wheat, oats) grown dense, sting suitable clods, bowls or mixtures of seeds, more properly we should talk about feline grass. Our felines eat these herbs to aid upphetsad digestion and provide beneficial nutrients, patch this has nothing to do with the effects of real catnip, which is the subject of our article.