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 | |
|---|---|
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| Nepeta nepetella at Orto Botanico dell'Università di Genova | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Lamiaceae |
| Genus: | Nepeta |
| Species: | N. nepetella
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| Binomial name | |
| Nepeta nepetella | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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- Subspecies[1]
- Nepeta nepetella subsp. aragonensis (Lam.) Nyman - Spain, Algeria, Morocco
- Nepeta nepetella subsp. laciniata (Willk.) Aedo - Sierra Nevada of southern Spain
- Nepeta nepetella subsp. murcica (Guirão ex Willk.) Aedo - Morocco, southern Spain
- Nepeta nepetella subsp. nepetella - Pyrenees, western Alps, + Apennines of Spain, France, Italy
Description
editNepeta 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
editNepetella, 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
edit- ^ a b c Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant families
- ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- ^ "Nepeta nepetella [Gattaia minore] - Flora Italiana". luirig.altervista.org.
- ^ "Home". Alpine Garden Society.
- ^ Zicha, Ondrej. "BioLib: Biological library". www.biolib.cz.
- ^ "Nepetella". www.ortoricci.it. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Mentuccia, nepetella o nepitella? Facciamo un po' di chiarezza". Valfrutta (in Italian). Retrieved 14 May 2020.