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This genus is accepted, and its native range is Temperate & Subtropics to Tropical Mountains.
A specimen from Kew's Herbarium

[FTEA]

Valerianaceae, J. O. Kokwaro (East African Herbarium). Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1968

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herbs, vines or subshrubs, usually glabrous or sparsely hairy with short simple hairs, with a bitter taste and peculiar smell especially when dry, fleshy (woody or tuberous) roots, sometimes stoloniferous, occasionally gynodioecious or polygamodioecious
Morphology Leaves
Leaves petiolate to nearly sessile, exstipulate; radical leaves entire or toothed, in basal rosette, often long-petioled; cauline leaves pinnatifid, or once–twice-pinnatisect
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence usually a dichasial cyme or thyrse, sometimes lax or subcapitate; bracts free, opposite, persistent, on the ultimate branchlets only 1 bract of each pair is flower-bearing; bracteoles present
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual, small, irregular
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx small, persistent; limb short during anthesis, inrolled, deeply divided into 10 or more segments, these unrolling in fruit and (in most species) developing into 5–15 plumose awns
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla funnel-shaped or campanulate, caducous after anthesis, small, gibbous, sometimes ± hairy in the throat; lobes (3, 4)5, oblong, patent, imbricate in bud
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 3 (rarely 4, and occasionally 1–2 by abortion), inserted toward the top of the corolla-tube, usually exserted, alternating with the corolla-lobes; filaments thin; anthers small, 2-thecous
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Style filiform, shortly 3-lobed or subentire, glabrous; stigma simple or 3-lobed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit small, indehiscent, much compressed, with 3 dorsal, 1 ventral, and 2 marginal ribs.

[FZ]

Valerianaceae, J. F. M. Cannon. Flora Zambesiaca 7:1. 1983

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herbs, rarely climbers, occasionally subshrubs which are somewhat woody at the base; glabrous or sometimes sparsely pubescent with simple hairs; often with a characteristic pungent smell of “valerian” from the rizomes, especially when dry.
Note
Some species gynodioecious or polygamodioecious at anthesis.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a dichasial cyme or thyrse, rarely subcapitate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers hermaphrodite or unisexual.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx small and inrolled but usually developing in fruit into 5–15 plumose awns.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla imbricate, funneliform or campanulate, slightly saccate at the base, with (3–4) 5 lobes.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens usually 3, epipetalous, alternating with the corolla lobes, frequently exserted.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style with 3 short lobes or slightly emarginate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit an achene, compressed, with 6 filiform ribs.

[FIQ]

Ghazanfar, S. A. & Edmondson, J. R (Eds). (2014) Flora of Iraq, Volume 5 Part 2: Lythraceae to Campanulaceae.

Morphology General Habit
Perennial rhizomatous herbs, glabrous or pubescent
Morphology Stem
Stems simple
Morphology Leaves
Leaves opposite, entire or pinnate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence corymbose
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers small, pink or whitish
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 6–15, segments linear, involute during flowering, in fruit forming a feathery pappus
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla 5-lobed, funnel-shaped, tube gibbous at base
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 3
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achene compressed dorsiventrally, with 3- and 1-veined faces, feathery.
Distribution
About 250 species in the Northern Hemisphere and in the Cordilleras, also in the S Hemisphere. Two species in Iraq, both rather rare. Zohary (Dep. Agr. Iraq Bull. 31: 140 (1950) names in his list also V. dioscoridis Sm. without any locality; no material is available from Iraq, so this is a doubtful record.
Note
Valeriana (based on the personal name Valerianus via Old Fr. valeriane).

Native to:

Afghanistan, Alabama, Alaska, Albania, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Algeria, Altay, Amur, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Assam, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, British Columbia, Bulgaria, Buryatiya, California, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Central European Rus, Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita, Colombia, Colorado, Connecticut, Corse, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Delaware, Denmark, District of Columbia, Dominican Republic, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, East Himalaya, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Falkland Is., Finland, Florida, France, Free State, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Idaho, Illinois, India, Indiana, Inner Mongolia, Iowa, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Irkutsk, Italy, Japan, Jawa, Kamchatka, Kansas, Kazakhstan, Kentucky, Kenya, Khabarovsk, Kirgizstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Kriti, Krym, Kuril Is., KwaZulu-Natal, Labrador, Laos, Lebanon-Syria, Lesotho, Libya, Louisiana, Madeira, Magadan, Maine, Malawi, Manchuria, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mongolia, Montana, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Newfoundland, Nicaragua, North Carolina, North Caucasus, North European Russi, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Northwest European R, Northwest Territorie, Norway, Nunavut, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oman, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Palestine, Panamá, Paraguay, Pennsylvania, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Primorye, Puerto Rico, Qinghai, Québec, Romania, Sakhalin, Sardegna, Saskatchewan, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Sinai, South Carolina, South Dakota, South European Russi, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sumatera, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tennessee, Texas, Thailand, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Turkmenistan, Tuva, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Utah, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vermont, Vietnam, Virginia, Washington, West Himalaya, West Siberia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Xinjiang, Yakutskiya, Yugoslavia, Yukon, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

Extinct in:

Socotra

Introduced into:

Bermuda, Galápagos, Hawaii, Juan Fernández Is., Mauritius, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Norfolk Is., Nova Scotia, Prince Edward I., Réunion, Tristan da Cunha

Valeriana L. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
Jun 1, 1858 Spruce, R. [5448], Ecuador K000202012
Jan 1, 1857 Spruce, R. [5448], Ecuador K000202011

First published in Sp. Pl.: 31 (1753)

Accepted by

  • Tutin, T.G. & al. (eds.) (1976). Flora Europaea 4: 1-505. Cambridge University Press.

Literature

Flora of Iraq

  • Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. ed. 1: 31 (1753)

Flora Zambesiaca

  • Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 19 (1754).
  • Sp. Pl. 1: 31 (1753)

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • L., Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 19 (1754)
  • Sp. Pl.: 31 (1753)

Flora Zambesiaca
Flora Zambesiaca
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Flora of Iraq
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Kew Backbone Distributions
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2021. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0