Red Valerian

Valeriana rubra is a multi-stemmed perennial herbaceous plant up to 80 cm (31 in) tall with red, pink or white flowers. The leaves are generally 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long, the stem leaves being sessile and branch leaves sometimes having a petiole up to 5 cm long. The leaves grow in opposite pairs and are oval or lanceolate in shape. The inflorescences occur at the tips of the branches, in multiparous cymes with a hundred or more flowers. Each plant has either red, pink or white flowers. Valeriana rubra 'Albus' (about 10% of individuals) has white blooms. The cultivar 'coccineus' is especially long-blooming. The blooms have a strong and somewhat rank scent.

Valeriana rubra is native of the Mediterranean region, ranging from Portugal and Spain to France, Italy, former Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece and European Turkey, and from Morocco to Algeria and Tunisia. It has been introduced into many other parts of the world as a garden escape. It is naturalised in France, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, Isle of Man and the United States. In the US it can be found growing wild in such western states as Arizona, Utah, California, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon, usually in disturbed, rocky places at elevations below 200 m. It is often seen by roadsides or in urban wasteland. It can tolerate very alkaline soil conditions. Because of its ability to tolerate alkaline conditions, Valeriana rubra can tolerate lime in mortar, and may frequently be seen growing on old walls in Italy, southern France and south-west UK.

They are pollinated by both bees and butterflies and the plant is noted for attracting insects. Flowering takes place in early summer and, in cool summer areas, continues sporadically throughout the summer and into fall. Red Valerian is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including angle shades. Fruits have feathery projections similar in appearance to the pappus of dandelion seeds that allow wind dispersal, and can self-seed freely and become invasive if not properly controlled.