Many years ago, I watched my pet cat frolicking in the grass in the same place for about ten minutes. Close examination of this curious behavior revealed a slightly compressed catnip plant (Nepeta cataria) that had germinated in my back yard the previous spring. The seed source was apparently an old, dismantled catnip toy that had been discarded in the area years before. According to the Jepson Flora of California (1993), this European annual/perennial weed is naturalized in moist, shady areas throughout the state.

The attraction of feline mammals to the odor of catnip (also called catmint) is not limited to domestic house cats. In fact, is is apparently attractive to all members of the cat family (Felidae), including lions and tigers. The chemical in catnip responsible for the unusual and comical behavior of cats is nepetalactone, a methylcyclopentane monoterpene. It is found in the leaves, stems and inforescences of catnip plants. Dried leaves, stems and flowers are placed in catnip toys and sold in natural food stores as a medicinal tea. Nepetalactone occurs naturally in cis-trans and trans-cis isomers. These isomers have slightly different 3-dimensional shapes with respect to the position of the methyl group on the cyclopentane component of the molecule. According to the Merck Index (1983), the cis-trans isomer comprises 70-99 percent of the nepetalactone in catnip plants.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) A Beloved Herb Used In Ancient Greece

Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) is a European wildflower that has become dispersed throughout the United States, and one of the most common naturalized weeds in southern California. Like other members of the mint family (Lamiaceae), the flowers are grouped into dense clusters in the axils of opposite leaves along 4-sided stems. Each flower consists of a white, two-lipped corolla and a tubular calyx with ten spiny teeth that dry and curve outward in late summer and fall. Each prickly, dried calyx containing four one-seeded nutlets attaches readily to the fur of animals or other passers-by. Without a doubt, horehound calyces will have a frequency of occurrence of 100 percent in your socks if you walk through a field of this plant in the fall. In the Wayne's Word Top 17 Hitchhiking Plants, horehound is ranked #13 with five "sock-removal-difficulty units" (SRDUs). It is not surprising that this weed has found its way across the entire United States.

Horehound candy is made from a boiled infusion of the fresh leaves plus a lot of sugar. Horehound lozenges are an old-fashioned hard candy and a favorite cough remedy with a distinctive flavor that some people actually like. The following is a recipe for making your own horehound candy:

Recipe For Horehound Candy: 1. Make a strong horehound infusion: Boil one cup of fresh leaves with two cups of water for ten minutes. Let steep for five minutes and then strain. 2. To make horehound candy: Use one cup of horehound infusion to two cups of white sugar. Place sugar in small saucepan and stir in 1/8th teaspoon cream of tartar, then add the horehound infusion. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then cook over low heat until it reaches 290 Fahrenheit degrees on a candy thermometer. [Or until a drop of the cooked infusion in cold water becomes a hard, glossy ball.] Pour on a buttered plate and score into cough drop sizes when it is semi-hardened. When cool, break apart into sections and store in a cool place until used.

Lavender (Lavandula officinalis) is a perennial herb native to the mountains of southern Europe. This species is also listed as L. angustifolia ssp. angustifolia with a number of named cultivars. The flowers are typically produced in compact clusters (spikes) on long stalks extending above the foliage. Lavender oil is distilled from volatile monoterpenes in the flowers which typically bloom during late summer in the Alps and Pyrenees. According to R.W. Schery (Plants For Man, 1972), 4,000 tons of flowers may be used in one season. Lavender oil is usually blended with other essential oils in the delicate art of perfumery. The generic name Lavandula and common name "lavender" comes from the Latin lavare, meaning "to wash," because during Roman times this herb was used to add fragrance to wash water.

There are several other European species of Lavandula, including L. multifida of the western Mediterranean region. In southern California, this fragrant shrubby herb with gray foliage and purple flowers is commonly planted in herb gardens. It is sometimes referred to as "fernleaf lavender" because of its dissected leaves. This drought resistant lavender is especially attractive as a border plant and along walkways.