Valeriana

Valeriana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae, 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 and Valeriana macrosiphon in Western Australia.

Taxonomy

The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus after the Roman emperor Publius Licinius Valerianus who was said to use the plant as medicine.^: 16 The emperor's personal name comes from Valeria and the Latin verb valeo which means "to be strong".

32 previously recognized genera, including Centranthus, Fedia, and Plectritis, are now considered synonyms of Valeriana. Species in the former genus Centranthus are unusual in having flowers with "handedness", that is, having neither radial nor bilateral symmetry.

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.

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).