Catnip

Botanical reference entry

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Parts Usually Used
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Where Found
Medicinal Properties
Biochemical Information
Legends, Myths and Stories
Uses
Bibliography

Parts Usually Used

Leaves, fresh or dried

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Catnip is a perennial herb of the mint family. Its erect, square, branching stem is hairy and grows from 3-5 feet high. The oblong or cordate, pointed leaves have scalloped edges and gray or whitish hairs on the lower side. The bilabiate flowers are white with purple spots and grow in spikes; these are small and hooded, and grow in crowded whorls from June to September. The plant has a pleasant, aromatic odor.

Where Found

Found in disturbed habitats throughout much of North America. Native to Europe. Common inhabitant of hedges and waste places.

Medicinal Properties

Anodyne, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac (for cats), aromatic, carminative, diaphoretic, nervine, emmenagogue, sedative (for humans), stimulant, tonic

Biochemical Information

Acetic acid, biotin, buteric acid, choline, citral, dipentene, inositol, lifronella, limonene, manganese, nepetalic acid, volatile oils, PABA, phosphorus, sodium, sulfur, valeric acid, and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, and B12.

Legends, Myths and Stories

Good-tasting aromatic tea. Old country favorite in England even before oriental tea was introduced there. High in vitamin C. Stimulates the appetite if served cold before meals; aids digestion if served hot after meals. Hot tea also makes a soothing nightcap. Catnip has been used since Biblical times as a tea; it has a calming effect on humans. It’s extremely exciting and attractive to cats, who are apt to romp in and tear up the plants, which does not effect their health.

From an English herbalist comes the sobering advice that the root of catnip “when chewed is said to make the most gentle person fierce and quarrelsome, and there is a legend of a certain hangman who could never screw up his courage to the point of hanging anybody till he had partaken of it”. In Colonial times, catnip tea was much used as a substitute for hard-to-get chamomile flowers.

Catnip grew like weeds wherever the pioneers lived. Like chamomile, the warm tea was used for infants and children to soothe their stomach (simple colic) and help them sleep. Catnip tea is still very popular among folks living in isolated communities in the Cumberland Mountains, Kentucky and the Ozarks. Rats are said to be repelled by catnip; so it might be a suitable protective plant around grain crops.

In fact, The Herbalist Almanac tells of catnip growing around buildings of old farms because of an old belief that the odor of this plant drove off rats. The plants were set as a barricade around the buildings. One beekeeper is sold on catnip; claims catnip yields considerable honey. If there is any plant that should be cultivated specially for honey it should be catnip he declares.

Uses

Historically regarded as a common household remedy, catnip was traditionally utilized by herbalists to manage fevers and promote sweating. Folk practitioners administered it for colds, flu, colic, pain, inflammation, and digestive complaints, and it was believed to stimulate the appetite and encourage sleep. The leaves were sometimes chewed in an effort to ease toothaches, or bruised and applied topically to hemorrhoids.

Traditional European practices included its use for chronic bronchitis and diarrhea, while herbalists also employed it to address painful menstruation or to encourage menstrual flow. Additionally, historical accounts noted its application via enemas for fevers, convulsions, and expelling intestinal worms.

Bibliography

, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England.

, Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , West Nyack, NY, 1987. , Simon & Schuster/Fireside, Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements , by James F.

D. and Phyllis A. , 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974 Old Ways Rediscovered , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, published from 1954, print 1988 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992).

The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living , by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988). The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc.