Nepeta cataria L., Cat-mint
Account Summary
Introduction, garden escape, very rare. Eurosiberian temperate, but very widely naturalised in both hemispheres.
1872; Smith, T.O.; unspecified site on the banks of the Colebrooke River.
Growth form and British occurrence
Cat-mint is a perennial herb with thick, fleshy roots and branched leafy stems with a strongly aromatic, mint-like scent. This aroma provides a strong fascination for cats, which love to roll themselves in it and hence the English common name. In gardens, on occasions, cats may spend so much time on top of the plant, they will severely damage or even kill it (Grieve 1931).
N. cataria produces pale green stems that grow 40-100 cm tall, erect, hollow and 4-sided, with dense, white, eglandular hairs that cover the plant with a mealy down and minute glands that contain the scent. It flowers from July to September and is pollinated mainly by bees, or selfed (Garrard & Streeter 1983; Sell & Murrell 2009).
As recently as 1997, Stace in the 2nd edition of his New Flora of the British Isles was claiming that this familiar, but rather local species was, "probably native" in England and Wales, although making no mention of its status or presence in Scotland, and recognising it as, "rarely naturalised or casual in Ireland". It has now been declared an archaeophyte in Britain, having been introduced to Britain in the Middle Ages (Grigson 1974; Preston et al. 2004). Populations in Britain in open grassland, hedge banks, waysides, roadsides and rough ground, preferably on calcareous or gravelly soils, have been in decline since at least around the 1960s (K. Walker, in: Preston et al. 2002).
The New Atlas hectad map shows N. cataria is a very rare and scattered species north of a line between Lancaster and Hull. The loss of habitat it has suffered in the last 60 years in S England and Wales is principally associated with the intensification of agriculture, including the removal of hedges (K. Walker, in: Preston et al. 2002).
Fermanagh and N Ireland occurrence
N. cataria is an extremely rare escape from cultivation in Fermanagh and likewise elsewhere in NI. The above listed very old record is the only one ever in the Fermanagh Flora Database. Hackney et al. (1992) also report the species similarly rare in the FNEI 3 and they note that it is somewhat more prevalent near the coast in the NE of the island, although unusually persistent on the sand-dunes on the southern shore of Lough Foyle around Magilligan – Benone and Downhill, Co Londonderry (H40).
Irish occurrence
In Ireland, in comparison with Britain, this species is merely casual on dry waste ground and it very seldom proves long-persistent. There are no post-1970 records for N. cataria anywhere in Ireland and the New Atlas hectad map plots just six pale pink spots representing pre-1970 records, four of which are in the province of Ulster! All but the solitary Fermanagh record listed above lie on or near the coast.
This situation for N. cataria in Ireland did not always apply. In the mid-19th century, the species, although still rare, had many stations scattered across the island. Cybele Hibernica (1866) listed 17 locations from eight of its twelve 'divisions' of the island. The plant cropped up on waysides, waste places, banks and near ruins. Many of these sites had already disappeared by the end of the century, however, and the plant had by that time become recognised as a definite alien, garden escape (Colgan & Scully 1898). Oddly enough there were very few reports of Cat-mint escapes from Irish gardens during the 20th century, perhaps because of some change in the choice of popular cultivars being grown, which may have proved more casual than persistent in the wild (Webb 1980; Cat Alien Pl Ir).
European and world occurrence
N. cataria is believed to have originated in S Europe and W & C Asia (Grigson 1974; Hultén & Fries 1986) and it has been very widely introduced on account of its many uses as a medicinal herb to such places as the rest of Europe, S Africa, N America, S Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. The distribution has consequently become discontinuous circumpolar (Hultén & Fries 1986, Map 1602).
Uses
In herbal medicine, N. cataria is regarded as a carminative (ie relieves flatulence), tonic, diaphoretic (ie induces perspiration), refrigerant (ie causes cooling) and slightly emmenagogue (ie increases or stimulates menstrual flow), especially antispasmodic and mildly stimulating (Grieve 1931). It is considered very useful in combating colds as it produced free perspiration without causing heating of the system. It is also useful in treating fevers for the same reason. Catnip tea is used to treat colicky pains and to relieve pain and flatulence. It is said to be good for inducing sleep and helpful for treating restlessness and nervousness. One of its chief uses is in treating childrens' ailments, and Grieve (1931) lists many other uses to which Cat-mint has been put, too many to relate here. There is just a possibility that confusion might occur as Cat-mint and Calamint (Clinopodium ascendens) might occasionally be mixed up in terms of their herbal use, since for instance they are both recommended for treating colds and may be drunk as herbal teas (Allen & Hatfield 2004).
In France, Cat-mint leaves and stems were regularly used to season dishes and it was specially cultivated in kitchen gardens for this purpose. It is also used as a herbal tea. N. cataria was a popular decorative garden subject until it became largely replaced by more vigorous, more distinctive relatives, including the sterile hybrid N. × faassenii Bergmans ex Stearn. This hybrid arose in cultivation in 1784 and quickly became popular with gardeners. It was not recorded in the wild in Britain until 1928. The hybrid possesses a strong rhizome and it occasionally escapes from cultivation or is discarded whenever it becomes too invasive. It is widely but thinly scattered across Britain on waysides, waste ground and rubbish tips, especially in coastal areas, and it is probably still increasing (K. Walker, in: Preston et al. 2002).
Names
The genus name 'Nepeta' is a name given to an unknown aromatic, mint-like plant by the Roman writer, historian and scientist, Pliny (Grigson 1974). 'Nepeta' or 'Nepete' is also the name of a city in Etruria (Gilbert-Carter 1964). The name might also originate from 'Nepi' in Italy (Gledhill 1985). The Latin specific epithet 'cataria' is from 'catarius', 'of cats' (Gledhill 1985).
The English common name 'Catmint' (or 'Catnep' or 'Catnip') is 13th century, recognising that cats show a strong liking for the plant. The plant was known by the medieval Latin names 'herba felina', 'herba cati' or 'herba catti', and 'herba cattaria' (Grigson 1955, 1987; Grigson 1974). Alternative names include 'Dogmint', 'Nep', 'Nep-in-a-hedge' (Grigson 1955, 1987). 'Nep' or 'Neppe' is merely a contraction of the Latin 'Nepete' (Prior 1879).
Threats
None.