Montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.
Lower Stoner Mesa Trail, May 26, 2004.

Valerian is a slim, tall plant with a very conspicuous white-to-purple flower cluster balanced perfectly above its stem. Opposite leaves appear only once or twice along the stem.  Valerian is a common early summer flower and often is thickly scattered over small forest openings and meadows.

"Valerian" refers either to a Roman Emperor or (more probably) to the Latin word for strength, "valere", referring to the belief in Valerian’s potency as a nerve tonic and relaxant.  "Capitata" (as in "decapitate") refers to the rounded "head-shaped" flower.

Linnaeus named this genus in 1753 and Rydberg collected the first of this species in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Eastern Colorado around 1900 and named the plant Valeriana acutiloba.  Frederick Meyer renamed the plant Valeriana capitata in 1951.

Montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.
Ryman Creek Trail, June 16, 2005.

Montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.
Ryman Creek Trail, June 16, 2005.

Montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, June 14, 2006.

Feathery seed-heads.

Montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.
Lizard Head Trail, June 19, 2004.

Valeriana edulis likes high mountain sunny meadows where its large, nearly vertical basal leaves and tall gangly flower stalk are very visible.  Look for a prominent mid-rib vein and white edging on the long basal leaves of Valeriana edulis.  In the picture at the left a young foot tall Valeriana edulis has a new, tightly closed flower head.  The flower head will open (see below) into a wide spray of many small flowers, and the nearly leafless stalk will elongate, commonly to a scraggly three or four feet.

David Douglas was the first to collect this plant for science in the present day Spokane area in the 1820s or early 1830s; it was named by Thomas Nuttall in 1841. "Edulis" is Latin for "edible".  (More biographical information.)

Montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.
Sharkstooth Trail, July 30, 2004.

Several 3 1/2 foot tall Valeriana edulis plants crowd each other at 12,000 foot Sharkstooth Pass.  Each plant is about three feet across at the top.  Flowers are small in clusters spread along the very open and airy stems.

Montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.
Haviland Lake Trail, July 23, 2005.

Quarter inch plumules carry the seeds.