1201 



Ojc (Erras'urjj ni Botanjn 



[vALL 



■who become, as it were, intoxicated with 

 it. This odour seems to be due to the 

 presence of valerianic, acid. It is stated 

 that rat-catchers avail themselves of this 

 root as a means of attracting their prey. 

 What is known to chemists as volatile 

 oil of Valerian seems not to exist na- 

 turally in the plant, hut to he developed 

 by the agency of water. Valerian is used 

 in medicine as a powerful stimulant to the 

 nervous system in hysteria, and even in 

 epilepsy. On the Continent it is likewise 

 used as a febrifuge. 



V. celiica is supposed to be the Saliunca 

 of ancient writers. Its perfume is highly 

 prized by Eastern nations, for the purpose 

 of aromatising their baths. The roots are 

 collected by the Styrian peasants with no 

 sb'ght difficulty and labour, and are export- 

 ed by way of Trieste to Turkey and Egypt, 

 whence they are conveyed to India and 

 Ethiopia. V. montana, V. Phu, V. pyrenai- 

 ca, V. supina, and V. paniculata (a native 

 of Peru), all possess similar properties. 

 V. sitchensis, a native of North-western 

 America, is considered by the Russians 

 as the most powerful species. V. Diosco- 

 ridis is stated by Dr. Sibthorp to have 

 been the 'Phu' of Dioscorides: it has a 

 much more aromatic and a less nauseous 

 odour than the British species. 



Two Valerians are natives of this country, 

 and a third is now well-established in 

 certain parts of Scotland and Western 

 England. V. officinalis, the most common 

 species, has erect stems two to four feet 

 high, irregularly pinnated leaves, and small 

 white or pink flowers in broad terminal , 

 corymbs. This plant is usually found in | 

 moist hedgerows or on the banks of ditches I 

 and streams. V. dioica, a natrve of bogs | 

 and marshes, has stems not attaining to a i 

 height of more than six to eight inches; I 

 the lower leaves are ovate entire, the upper j 

 ones pinnate, with one large segment at the j 

 end ; the flowers are small, unisexual, i 

 V.pyre.iaica, occasionally found wild, is a [ 

 larger plant than the common Valerian, 

 from which also it may be known by its 

 broad heart-shaped toothed leaves. Seve- 

 ral other species are grown in gardens, 

 many of them handsome flowering plants. 



The generic name is derived from the 

 Latin valere ' to heal,' in allusion to the 

 curative properties of the plants; but 

 some derive it from Valerius, who is sup- 

 posed to have been the first to employ them 

 medicinally. [if. T. M.] 



VALERIANE. (Fr.) Valeriana, — DES 

 JAE.DINS. Valeriana Phu. ~ DES 5IA- 

 RAI3. Valeriana dioica. — GRANDE. 

 Valeriana Phu. — GRECQUE. Polemonium 

 cceruleum. — ROUGE. C'entranthus ruber. 



VALERIANELLA. Common herbs be- 

 longing to the order Yalerianaceoe, and 

 allied to Valeriana, from which they are 

 distinguished by having the fruit crowned 

 with several unequal teeth, and not with a 

 feathery pappus. Several species are in- 

 digenous to Britain, of which the most 

 frequent is V. olitoria (the common Lamb's 

 Lettuce;, a weak succulent herb, six to 



twelve inches high, with repeatedly forked 

 stems, oblong blunt leaves, and nume- 

 rous bluish-white semitransparent flowers, 

 some of which are solitary in the forks of 

 the stems, and others crowded into leafy 

 heads at their summits. This species is 

 often cultivated as a salad, not so much 

 on account of its flavour, which is insipid, 

 as because it is in perfection early in 

 the year. There are several other native 

 species, which are discriminated mainly 

 by minute differences in the fruit. The 

 foreign species resemble V. olitoria, and 

 may also be cultivated as salad. French : 

 Mache ; German : Ackersalat. [C. A. J.] 



VALERIANWORTS. The plants of the 

 order Valerianacece. 



VALISALOO. An Indian name for 

 Ram-til oil. 



VALLEA. The name of a genus of 

 Peruvian trees of the family Tiliaceai. The 

 leaves are entire heart-shaped, provided 

 with large leafy stipules ; and the flower- 

 stalks are axillary and terminal, two to 

 three-flowered. Calyx of five lanceolate 

 coloured segments, valvate in the bud ; 

 petals five, overlapping, three-lobed ; sta- 

 mens numerous, in two rows, the anthers 

 opening by pores at the top ; ovary sessile, 

 surrounded by a disk at the base, and con- 

 taining two ovules in each of its compart- 

 ments ; fruit capsular, muricate, three to 

 five-valved, the valves spreading, and each 

 bearing two seeds, attached along its 

 centre. M. T. MJ 



VALLECULA. The channels or furrows 

 lying between the ridges upon the fruit of 

 umbellifers. 



VALLESIA. A genus of Apocynacea?, 

 containing several shrubs or trees from 

 Tropical America, with alternate ovate 

 and pet.iolate leaves, and white flowers in 

 cymes opposite to the leaves. The calyx 

 is five-parted; the corolla salver-shaped; 

 the tube slightly inflated both above and 

 below ; the stamens included, their ovate 

 anthers supported on short slender fila- 

 ments ; and the two ovate compressed 

 ovaries contain four ovules. One of the 

 drupes is sometimes averted. [W. C] 



VALLISNERIACE^E. A name under 

 which it has been proposed to separate as 

 a distinct order, Vallisneria, Elodea, and a 

 few other Hydrocharidacece which have a 

 one-celled ovary They are, however, more 

 generally considered as a tribe only of the 

 latter order. 



VALLISNERIA. This genus, so remark- 

 able on accouut of the extremely curious 

 manner in which the process of fertilisa- 

 tion is effected, belongs to the order Hy- 

 drocharidacece, and consists of two species, 

 one of which is confined to Australia, 

 while the other is widely dispersed over 

 the tropical and warm regions of the eaith 

 — both of them, however, inhabiting only 

 fresh-water rivers or lakes. V. spiralis 

 the best-known species, and the one com 

 monly grown in aquaria in this country 



41 



