About Nepeta curviflora Boiss.
Nepeta curviflora Boiss. is a perennial chamaephyte that grows to heights of 60 to 80 cm. Its small, fine, silvery aromatic leaves grow in clumps and have dentate margins. This species flowers between April and June, producing dark blue tubular flowers arranged in verticillasters grouped along spikes. Its fruit forms as nutlets. Nepeta curviflora is native to the far eastern coastal regions of the Mediterranean, specifically occurring in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. It grows in Phrygana and Mediterranean woodlands, and is notably found in the montane regions of Mount Hermon. This species is occasionally grown in horticulture, where it is sometimes confused with the similar-looking Nepeta italica. The two species can be distinguished by flower color: N. italica has white flowers, while N. curviflora has blue flowers. The 10th-century physician Al-Tamimi, who died in 990, recorded a Jewish custom of making wreaths from boughs of a plant identified as Nepeta curviflora during the Jewish holiday of Shavu'ot. While the location of this practice is not explicitly stated, scholars suggest the tradition occurred in the Jerusalem area, and was likely a Karaite custom rather than a rabbinic one.
