Nepeta cataria vs Scrophularia californica
These two are not on this page because a keyword tool suggested them. They are here because our own identification model genuinely mistook one for the other, on real photographs, 3 times. We publish the rate, and then we tell you what actually separates them.
Side by sidefigs. a and b
Nepeta cataria
Scrophularia californica
How often our model gets it wrong measured, not estimated
| When the plant was | The model said | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Nepeta cataria | Scrophularia californica | 3 of 19 (16%) |
The confusion runs one way only. The model mistakes Nepeta cataria for Scrophularia californica, but not the reverse.
Measured on 38,299 openly licensed, research-grade photographs. Full method and dataset.
What actually separates themon the record
| Family | Lamiaceae versus Scrophulariaceae. Different families, which is a real separation. |
|---|---|
| Genus | Nepeta versus Scrophularia. |
| Flowering | Peaks in July versus April. If the plant is in flower, timing helps. (n = 1,224 and 2,017.) |
What we do not have yet: the diagnostic morphological character that a botanist would key on, from a source we can cite. We are not going to invent one. Until we have it, this page tells you the two are genuinely confusable, how often, and what the taxonomy and the flowering data do and do not settle.