what IS it? (photo added)

[Anntann]

I need to get a picture of this thing..I THOUGHT it was a nettle (we have a lot of them in the same area) and have been letting it grow to harvest the seeds so I can plant out at the farm..but today I got to looking at the thing..and no hairs..no prickles..nothing. I touched it...no stinging. No sap, no oil. No smell.

right..description...Tall plant(about 4 feet), same type of leaf as a nettle, but a little more palm shaped (wider base). Square stem. tall spike of flowers (which the bees LOVE) that are purplish/spotted and tiny. (the flowers are tiny, the spike is long.

I've looked at the sites for weeds/plants found in Wisconsin, and can't find it. Grows in dry areas, partial shade to full sun. I'll try for a photo of one if I can find the camera.

Any guesses?

 

[MaggieJ]

I don't really think it is motherwort, but you may as well take a look. We have tons of this stuff. I know it is a medicinal but have yet to find a practical use for it.

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/weedgui ... asp?id=700

 

[Anntann]

 

[MaggieJ]

That looks like catnip to me. Does it have a pungent smell when bruised, somewhere between minty and musky?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepeta

 

[eco2pia]

It does seem to be the mint family, I was going to guess lemon balm until you got to the "no smell" part--I don't know what mint relative doesn't smell though....

 

[JessicaR]

looks like catnip to me! My siamese goes nuts for fresh catnip

 

[ladysown]

catnip good for drying does up. my bucks adore it. BUT unless it is finished within an hour it draws the cats around.

 

[MaggieJ]

Ann, I missed the part about no smell. Still think it looks like catnip. Could you try bruising the leaves and see if that releases an odour?

 

[akane]

If it's wild it may just be a different species of nepeta that has less smell. Common catnip would be nepeta cataria and is the strongest scented which is why it's used for cats. I have some giant catmint (nepeta grandiflora) and it looks near identical to normal catnip except bigger with purple flowers and a lot milder scent. The cats still like it but they are only attracted to freshly crushed leaves. It could always have escaped from somewhere too. There's only somewhere around 75 species of nepeta plus endless hybrids out there.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

with use of magnifier and my Newcomb's-- that stuff is catnip.

bear in mind, folks-- odors releasad by herbs are stronger when the weather has been drier. Drier weather helps concentrate the oils that flavor and scent are carried in. I, personally, never found catnip to have much of an odor--

 

[akane]

We had some nepeta cataria that it didn't matter what the weather was or how old or new the growth was in the plant, if you brushed against it and broke it that smell could knock you out. Eventually the cats destroyed three 3' wide bushes because they were so attracted to them. There is definitely a difference in species and probably a difference between what has been left to go wild and what has been carefully cultivated for certain purposes.

 

[Anntann]

yup. catnip. I had to smash it to get a smell from it...lightly minty with an odd undertone.

Okay. well. Time to pull the stuff up! Don't need cats around the rabbitry, that's for sure. Perhaps I'll cut it down and dry it for a friend of mine that has 4 cats.

thanks for the help

 

[MaggieJ]

Catnip is handy to have as a natural fly and mosquito repellant. I am always grabbing a handful and rubbing it on when the bugs get pesky. Although if the kind you have is not intensely fragrant, it might not work so well anyway.

 

[SaratogaNZW]

Maggie beat me to it!

I planted catnip a few years ago, and let some of it go to seed every year, in an area around the edges of the yard. I had noticed the wild mints are so prolific around here, I have to cut them back or pull them out weekly, because they get waist high and jungle thick. So planted the catnip, and clip it off when the stems get over 24" long. I weave them into the lattice of the rabbitry, upside down, to dry like that and keep them there all summer. The rabbits pick at the some, but most importantly the dried catnip is a natural fly and mosquito repellent.

 

[BoxerMom]

I grow catnip just for mosquito repellent as well.

 

[Anntann]

hmmm. We usually have horrible mosquitoes here at night. (the farm has NONE, but the house in town is loaded with them). This year there are VERY few around. and none at all in the area toward the garage and drive, where this catnip is located. well. very cool