Wikipedia Trails: From Catnip to Penjing

Catnip: I wanted to start with this because I give my cat catnip frequently and she always gets crazy (obviously) but I wanted to know more about it. The Nepetalactone is extracted from the plant by steam distillation. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant.

Ornamental Plant: plants that are grown and used a decorations for gardens or landscape designs. Trees and Grasses can also be used in an ornamental use. One example of an ornamental tree is the bonsai tree

Bonsai Tree: The Japanese translation is 'tray planting', which makes sense since bonsai trees are traditionally seen as a miniature version of bigger trees, but on a plate. However, the Japanese tradition originally came from the Chinese practice of penjing. Below is a bonsai at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum.


Penjing: ancient art of depicting trees and other plants onto miniature landscapes. There are three categories of penjing as well: Shumu (focus on trees), Shanshui (mini landscapes of rocks and water), and Shuihan (combination of Shumu and Shanshui).


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