Question: This is a photo of a plant with very distinct leaves and the beginning of a white flower, but I …
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Question
This is a photo of a plant with very distinct leaves and the beginning of a white flower, but I have not been able to identify it with the Go Botany key. It was taken perhaps a month or so ago in Vermont. Can you help me by identifying it? Thank you.
Answer
Dear lmc825, your plant is Nepeta cataria (catnip), a non-native member of the Lamiaceae (mint family). This species is naturalized here and there in New England. The odor of the bruised leaves is a very useful character for identification (if you get an opportunity to visit this plant again).
