Valeriana

{{For|the ancient Mayan city|Valeriana (archaeological site)}} {{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the honeysuckle family}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Valeriana officinalis 002.JPG |image_caption = Garden valerian, ''Valeriana officinalis'' |taxon = Valeriana |authority = L., 1753 |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = |synonyms = {{collapsible list|  * ''Aligera'' {{small|Suksd. (1897)}} * ''Amblyorhinum'' Turcz. (1852) * ''Aretiastrum'' (DC.) Spach (1841) * ''Astrephia'' {{small|Dufr. (1811)}} * ''Belonanthus'' {{small|Graebn. (1906)}} * ''Betckea'' {{small|DC. (1832)}} * ''Centranthus'' DC. (1805) * ''Dufresnia'' DC. (1834) * ''Fedia'' Gaertn. (1790), nom. cons. * ''Fedia'' {{small|Kunth (1819), nom. illeg.}} * ''Fuisa'' {{small|Raf. (1840)}} * ''Hemesotria'' {{small|Raf. (1820)}} * ''Hybidium'' Fourr. (1868) * ''Locusta'' Riv. ex Medik. (1789) * ''Masema'' Dulac (1867) * ''Mitrophora'' Neck. ex Raf. (1813) * ''Monastes'' {{small|Raf. (1840)}} * ''Ocymastrum'' Kuntze (1891) * ''Odontocarpa'' Raf. (1840) * ''Oligacoce'' {{small|Willd. ex DC. (1830)}} * ''Phu'' {{small|Ludw. (1757)}} * ''Phuodendron'' {{small|(Graebn.) Dalla Torre & Harms (1905)}} * ''Phyllactis'' {{small|Pers. (1805)}} * ''Plectritis'' {{small|DC. (1830)}} * ''Polypremum'' {{small|Adans. (1763), nom. illeg.}} * ''Porteria'' {{small|Hook. (1851)}} * ''Pseudobetckea'' {{small|(Höck) Lincz. (1958)}} * ''Rittera'' Raf. (1840), nom. illeg. * ''Saliunca'' Raf. (1840) * ''Siphonella'' {{small|Small (1903)}} * ''Stangea'' {{small|Graebn. (1906)}} * ''Valerianopsis'' C.A.Müll. (1885) }} |synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO"/> }}

'''''Valeriana''''' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae,<ref name=POWO/> members of which may be commonly known as '''valerians'''. It contains many species, including the garden valerian, ''Valeriana officinalis''. ''Valeriana'' has centers of diversity in Eurasia and South America (especially in the Andes), and is represented by native species on all continents except Antarctica.

Some species have been introduced to parts of the world outside their native range, including ''Valeriana rubra'' in the western United States<ref>[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CERU2 USDA Plants Profile]</ref> and ''Valeriana macrosiphon'' in Western Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/7366 |title=FloraBase Profile |access-date=2009-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524211657/http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/7366 |archive-date=2011-05-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Taxonomy == The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus after the Roman emperor Publius Licinius Valerianus who was said to use the plant as medicine.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ilieva |first1=Iliana |title=Names of botanical genera inspired by mythology |journal=GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences |date=30 March 2021 |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=8–18 |doi=10.30574/gscbps.2021.14.3.0050 |url=https://gsconlinepress.com/journals/gscbps/content/names-botanical-genera-inspired-mythology|doi-access=free }}</ref>{{rp|16}} The emperor's personal name comes from ''Valeria'' and the Latin verb ''valeo'' which means "to be strong".<ref>{{OEtymD|valerian}}</ref><ref name="LD">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dvaleo |title= vălĕo |last1= Lewis |first1= Charlton T. |last2= Short |first2= Charles |dictionary= A Latin Dictionary |edition= |publisher= Perseus Digital Library |date = 1879 }}</ref>

32 previously recognized genera, including ''Centranthus'', ''Fedia'', and ''Plectritis'', are now considered synonyms of ''Valeriana''.<ref name="POWO"/> Species in the former genus ''Centranthus'' are unusual in having flowers with "handedness", that is, having neither radial nor bilateral symmetry.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Weberling|first1=Focko|title=Morphology of Flowers and Inflorescences|date=1992|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-25134-6|page=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ZlOAAAAIAAJ&q=valerian+flower+symmetry&pg=PA19}}</ref>

== Botany == Valeriana species are herbaceous perennials with woody roots, producing stems bearing fine hairs and trifoliolate, pinnate leaves with serrated edges. The flowers are borne in cymes. Drying leads to plant material developing a strong, musky odour which has been likened to that of the scent glands of male cats.<ref>{{cite book |last=Acevedo-Rodríguez |first=Pedro |date=April 2020 |chapter=Caprifoliaceae |chapter-url=https://naturalhistory.si.edu/sites/default/files/media/file/caprifoliaceae.pdf |title=Guide to the Genera of Lianas and Climbing Plants of the Neotropics |publisher=National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution }}</ref>

== Fossil record == Fossil seeds of ''Valeriana sp,'' among them †''Valeriana pliocenica'', have been recovered from Late Miocene deposits of southern Ukraine, and from Pliocene deposits of south-eastern Belarus and Bashkortostan in central Russia. The fossil seeds are most similar to the extant European ''Valeriana simplicifolia'' (a subspecies of ''Valeriana dioica'').<ref>The Pliocene flora of Kholmech, south-eastern Belarus and its correlation with other Pliocene floras of Europe by Felix Yu. VELICHKEVICH and Ewa ZASTAWNIAK - Acta Palaeobot. 43(2): 137–259, 2003</ref>

== Species == {{Main|List of Valeriana species|l1 = List of ''Valeriana'' species}}

{{As of|2024|7}}, Plants of the World Online accepts over 435 species and hybrids, including:<ref name=POWO>{{cite web |title=''Valeriana'' L. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30000719-2 |access-date=1 August 2024}}</ref> {{Div col}} *''Valeriana alypifolia'' {{small|Kunth}} *''Valeriana amazonum'' {{small|(Fridl. & A.Raynal) Christenh. & Byng}} *''Valeriana aretioides'' {{small|Kunth}} *''Valeriana asterothrix'' {{small|Killip}} *''Valeriana bertiscea'' {{small|Pančić}} *''Valeriana buxifolia'' {{small|F.G.Mey.}} *''Valeriana calcitrapae'' {{small|L.}} *''Valeriana californica'' {{small|A.Heller}} *''Valeriana celtica'' {{small|L.}} – Alpine valerian or valerian spikenard *''Valeriana cernua'' {{small|B.Eriksen}} *''Valeriana ciliosa'' {{small|(Greene) Byng & Christenh. (2018)}} – longspur seablush *''Valeriana coleophylla'' {{small|Diels}} *''Valeriana dioica'' {{small|L.}} – marsh valerian *''Valeriana edulis'' {{small|Nutt.}} *''Valeriana eriocarpa'' {{small|(Desv.) Christenh. & Byng}} – Italian corn salad *''Valeriana fauriei'' {{small|Briq.}} – Korean valerian<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |title=English Names for Korean Native Plants |publisher=Korea National Arboretum |year=2015 |isbn=978-89-97450-98-5 |location=Pocheon |pages=668 |access-date=24 December 2016 |via=Korea Forest Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525105020/http://www.forest.go.kr/kna/special/download/English_Names_for_Korean_Native_Plants.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2017 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> *''Valeriana locusta'' {{small|L.}} – corn salad, lamb's lettuce, mâche, fetticus *''Valeriana macrocera'' {{small|(Torr. & A.Gray) Byng & Christenh.}} – longhorn seablush *''Valeriana macrosiphon'' {{small|(Boiss.) E.Vilm.}} – long-spurred valerian *''Valeriana montana'' {{small|L.}} *''Valeriana occidentalis'' {{small|A.Heller}} *''Valeriana officinalis'' {{small|L.}} – garden valerian *''Valeriana pauciflora'' {{small|Michx.}} *''Valeriana phu'' {{small|L.}} *''Valeriana pyrenaica'' {{small|L.}} – Pyrenean valerian *''Valeriana rubra'' {{small|L.}} – red valerian *''Valeriana secunda'' {{small|B.Eriksen}} *''Valeriana sitchensis'' {{small|Bong.}} – Sitka valerian *''Valeriana trinervis'' {{small|Viv.}} *''Valeriana uliginosa'' {{small|(Torr. & A.Gray) Rydb.}} *''Valeriana umbilicata'' {{small|(Sull.) Christenh. & Byng}} – navel corn salad *''Valeriana woodsiana'' {{small|(Torr. & A.Gray) Christenh. & Byng}} – beaked corn salad {{div col end}}

== Gallery == <gallery> File:60 Valeriana officinalis.jpg|''Valeriana officinalis'' File:Valeriana montana Atlas Alpenflora.jpg|''V. montana'' </gallery>

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== External links == *{{Commons category-inline}} *[https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/VALER USDA records of the distribution of the genus in the United States]

Category:Valeriana Category:Caprifoliaceae genera Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Dipsacales-stub}}