VALEEIANACE^. 511 



but in the Lonicerece in which there are ordinarily irregular corollas, 

 a style with entire or little-divided stigmatiferous extremity, stamens 

 often to the number of four and unequal, with five divisions of the 

 corolla and also a single descending ovule, with dorsal raphe, like the 

 Valerian acece. But the Lonicerece have an abundant albumen, as in 

 most Ruhiacece proper, among which, it may be remarked, are observed 

 plants which, by their foetid odour, are analogous to the Valcrianaceoi, * 

 The latter, moreover, are not arborescent plants ; their stems ^ are 

 herbaceous or much more rarely frutescent. 



UsES.3 — The odour of the Valerianacece is nearly always charac- 

 teristic, with some variation ; generally foetid, sometimes more or less 

 agreeable. It is due to the essence of Valerian or some analogous 

 substance. This essence, as obtained by distillation, contains a resin 

 a camphor analogous to the Borneo, valeric acid, valerol and borneene, 

 a carburet of hydrogen. The most extensively used of the Valerians, 

 chiefly as an antispasmodic medicine in various nervous affections, 

 fevers, worms, &c., is F. officinale^ (fig. 396, 404-408), of which 

 the subterranean portion only is prescribed. The Great Valerian 

 (F. Fhu ^) was considered useful among the ancients, and its properties 

 are in fact the same, though less energetic ; but many authors have 

 thought that the species extolled by Dioscobides was a different plant 



would alternate with the two posterior lobes is * Endl. Enchirid. 227. — Lindl. Veg. Kingd. 



wanting. The stamens disappear in order 698 ; FL Med. 471. — GriB Brog. Simpl. (ed. 7) 



starting from the anterior lobe ; the two anterior iii. 67. — Rosenth. Synops. Plant. Liaphor. 253. 



{Fedia) or one oi ih.em. {Valeriana^ Valerianella) , * V. officinalis L. Spec. 45. — Dufr. Valer. 40. 



or, besides the two anterior, one of the two — Blackw. Hob. i. 171. — Woodw. Med. Bot. \. 



lateral, that which is not on the side of the fer- 196. — Hayx. Arzn. Oew. iii. t. 32. — DC. Prodr. 



tile ovarian cell {Centranthtts). iv. 641, n. 80. — Mer. et Del. Diet. Mat. Med. vi. 



^ Several Viburnums are said to contain Va- 830. — Pierlot, Not. sur la Valeriane. — Guib. 



leric Acid. Brog. Simpl. (ed. 7) iii. 68, fig. 590. — Grex. et 



^ The stems are very variable in form and Godr. FL de Fr. ii. 54. — Berg et Schm. Barst. 



dimensions ; there are " stemless " Valerianacece, Off. Gew. t. 28, d. — Haxb. ei Flxjck. Pharmacog. 



that is with very short stems, and others with 337.— Caz. PI. M6d. Indig. (ed. 3) 1080. — V. ex- 



long slender climbing stems. Several of these celsa Poir. Bict. vii. 301. — V. altissima Mik. 



stems have been anatomically described in a Besser Fnum. A. — V.repens Yio&r. Fl. Austr. i. 



memoir by M. J. Chatix, who notes, among 35 {Wild Valerian, Small Valerian. — V.sylves- 



other discoveries, a "general cortical system tris, Phu germanicum, Phu parvwn oS.). 



without liberian fibres." The rest much re- ^1j. Spec. 45.— Hayx. loc. cit. t. 33.— Guib. 



sembles tlie anatomical studies of M. A. loc. cit. 1\.—Gv.i£.y. et Govv,. Fl. de Fr. \\. bi 



Chatix. . {Great Valerian, Garden V.). 



