Valeriana occidentalis

Western valerian, Western Valerian

Family: Valerianaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Western valerian is a California native perennial found in the Modoc Plateau in moist conifer forest locations at elevations of 1,500 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces delicate white flowers approximately 3.5 to 4.5 millimeters long with lobes slightly shorter than the flower throat. Growing with stems 30 to 75 centimeters tall that have short hairs at the nodes, it develops complex leaf structures. Its leaves range from 5 to 30 centimeters long, with basal leaves that are simple to compound and often ovate to round, occasionally deeply three-lobed, and cauline leaves with 3 to 7 distinct lobes that have entire to finely crenate margins. The fruit is an ovoid structure 3 to 5 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Moist places, conifer forest

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: 1500-2200 m

Bioregions: MP

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.