Common Valerian | Plant Information

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Dipsacales

Family:

Valerianaceae (Valerian)

Also in this family:

Red Valerian, White Valerian

Type:

Flower

Maximum Size:

2 metres tall

Habitats:

Ditches, grassland, marshes, meadows, riverbanks, scrub, waterside, woodland.

Flower:

Pink, 5 petals

Pale pink, 5 petals. The tiny flowers form dense round clusters. The buds are darker than the flowers themselves.

Fruit:

The fruit is an egg-shaped seed with a plume.

Leaves:

The leaves grow together in opposite pairs along the stems. They are stalked. The leaves are compound with between 7 and 13 leaflets. The leaflets are either toothless or have slightly toothed margins.

Aroma:

Flowers are sweet-scented.

Other Names:

All-heal, Amantilla, Belgian Valerian, Capon's Tail, Cat's Valerian, Cut-finger, Cut-heal, Cut-heal, English Valerian, European Valerian, Fragrant Valerian, Garden Heliotrope, Garden Valerian, German Valerian, Great Wild Valerian, Greek Valerian, Hardy Heliotrope, Heliotrope, Herb Bennet, Hercules' All-heal, Indian Valerian, Medicinal Valerian, Mexican Valerian, Musk Root, Pacific Valerian, Setewale, Setwall, Setwell, St George's Herb, Summer Heliotrope, Vandal Root, Wild Valerian.

Frequency (UK):

Occasionally seen