NEPETA CATARIA

FAMILY: LAMIACEAE
CATNIP: A mild stimulant, carminative, antispasmodic, anti-diarrheoic, weak emmenagogue for humans and, for cats, a wild aphrodisiac, stimulant and inebriant (I often can’t quite tell the difference between these three effects). Several old herbals warn that if smoked, catnip may have the “undesirable” side effect of being a mild hallucinogen but quite a bit would have to be smoked. If you value your garden, don’t plant this near other plants you don’t want your, or your neighbors’ cats to roll in (which, inevitably, it or they will do). Grows to a large, hardy herb in full sun.