Duration: Perennial

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Perennial, 10-60 cm tall; stems erect, glabrous to minutely spreading-hirsute; rhizome or caudex present, branched; roots fibrous, often strong-scented.

Leaves: Basal and cauline, opposite, the basal blades obovate- spatulate, oblong, or ovate, 3-8 cm long, 1.5-3.7 cm wide, glabrous, margins entire, cauline blades in 1-3 pairs, the lowest pair undivided, the others mostly pinnatifid, the lateral segments few, reduced, usually less than 1 cm wide, glabrous; basal and lower cauline blades petiolate, upper cauline blades sessile.

Flowers: Inflorescence panicle-like, elongate; flowers unisexual, staminate and pistillate flowers mostly on the same plant, the staminate flowers ascending, the pistillate flowers lax or recurved; staminate flowers with 4 tepals, distinct; pistillate flowers with 4 tepals, the outer ones linear to narrowly spatulate or lanceolate, 0.8-1.2 mm long, inner ones ovate to broadly ovoid, 1.4-1.8 mm long; flowers July-August.

Fruits: Achene, lance-oblong or lance-linear, 3.5-5.5 mm long, puberulent or sometimes glabrous.

Notes: Valeriana arizonica (Arizona valerian) is distinguished by ovate to elliptic basal blades, the base broadly rounded to truncate, sometimes with a pair of small basal leaflets somewhat removed from the main blade; the corolla is larger (10-15 mm long) and pink. It occurs in coniferous forests, open woods, shady ravines, often in moist soil. Valeriana edulis (tobacco root) has a stout taproot and short, branched caudex; basal leaves (generally larger than the other Valeriana species) are linear to obovate, gradually tapering to the petiole, 7- 40 cm long, 0.7-5.5 cm wide; inflorescence is panicle- like, often compact at time of flowering, becoming more open in fruit; the corolla is yellowish. It occurs in moist meadows, seeps, springs, streambanks, and canyons. The Navajo use V. acutiloba to treat cough, influenza, and tuberculosis.

Editor: Springer et al. 2008