CATNIP, Nepeta cataria L. 1, lower portion of plant; 2, upper part of plant in bloom; 3, seeds; 4, single flower. Perennial, reproducing by seed and from short rhizomes. Stems covered with fine short hair, erect, 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 cm) tall, 4-sided, light green. Leaves opposite, pointed, heart-shaped with saw-toothed margins, green above, light green or whitish underneath, covered with fine hairs, with a characteristic minty odor. Flowers in dense clusters at ends of stems and branches, petals formed into a 2-lipped tube, pale purple, dark-dotted. Seeds borne 4 in a pod, oval, with 2 flattened sides and 1 rounded side, dark reddish-brown with 2 white spots at one end. Found in waste places, in yards, and along roadsides. Sometimes cultivated.