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Valeriana sitchensis
Also called Mountain valerian, Pacific valerian, Mountain Heliotrope, Marsh Valerian, Swamp Valerian
Sitka valerian is a native rhizomatous perennial herb of moist mountain forests and subalpine meadows in northwestern North America, growing to about 70 cm or more with clusters of small white or pink flowers. It suits cool, moist sites with consistently damp soil.
Valeriana sitchensis is a species of valerian known by the common name Sitka valerian. It is native to northwestern North America from Alaska and northern Canada to Montana to northern California, where it grows in many types of habitat, including moist mountain forests. In moist subalpine meadows, it is often one of the most common plants. This is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a stout, erect stem to about 70 centimeters in maximum height, but known to exceed one meter at times. The leaves vary in size and shape, often having deep lobes or being composed of several leaflets. The inflorescence is a cyme of many white or pink-tinged flowers, each under a centimeter wide. The flower has five corolla lobes and three whiskery stamens protruding from the center.
Native Americans cooked and ate the roots, which have a poor scent. Some tribes also pounded the roots to make a poultice.
Valeriana alypifolia · Valeriana aretioides · Arizona valerian · Valeriana asterothrix · Valeriana buxifolia · California valerian · Celtic Spikenard · Valeriana ceratophylla · Valeriana cernua · Valeriana coleophylla · Marsh valerian · Tobacco root
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Valeriana sitchensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
