LXIV. 



VALERIANA OFFICINALIS.* 



Great Wild Valerian, Capons Tail. 



Synonyms. — Valeriana sjlvestris major, Rail Syn. 9 200; Ger. Em,, 1075. 



Mc 



germanicum, Fuchs. Hint., 357, f. Valeriana, Hall Hist, i., 91. Valeriana ofilei- 



Willd, vol. i. d. 177 : Curt Lo 



t. 96. 



Foreign Names.— Fr.: Valeriane. Ital. : Valeriana. Germ.: Baldrian, 

 Wilde Baldrianwurzel. But. : Wilde Valerian. Siced. t Vandelrot. Jluss. : 

 Balderian aptetschnoi. 



Nat Order, Aggregate, Linn.; Dips kCBM, Jm*. / Vam*I- 



aneje, Be Cand. — Triaxdria, Monogyxia. 



Gen. Char. — Limb of the calyx involute during flowering, then unrolled 

 into a deciduous pappus, consisting of many plumose setae. Tube of the 

 corolla obconical or cylindrical, equal at the base or gibbous, without I 

 spur, limb obtusely five-cleft, rarely three-cleft. Stamens three. Fruit 

 indehiscent when ripe, one-celled, one-seeded {Be Cand.) 



Spec. Char.— Smoothish, erect. Stem furrowed. Leaves all, or nearly 

 so, pinnatiaed. The segments seven or eight, pairs, lanceolate, serrate. 

 Corymhus, at length, somewhat panicled. Fruit smooth {Be Cand.) 



History.— The ancients used a Valerian under the name of 

 ®ov. Their nards, the virtues of which were so highly 

 extolled, were, according to Adams, different species of this 



Fig. 1. Calyx, corolla, anthers, and pistil, natural size. 2. The same (magnified). 



stigma 



* Stapf makes the Valeriana minor the officinal plant ; but as he takes many 



writers, and as it is now fully certain 



former 



— ^ ^^ w •___ ? 



been taken as the proper drug ; it is probable that both have the same medicinal 



properties. 



2 



