Valeriana pubicarpa
Mountain valerian
Family: Valerianaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Mountain valerian is a California native perennial found in central Sierra Nevada, northern Sierra Nevada, and expected in the White and Inyo Mountains in moist, rocky slopes and conifer forest at elevations of 2,700 to 3,200 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces white to pale pink flowers 4.5 to 6 millimeters long with a throat about twice the length of its lobes. Growing with stems 10 to 70 centimeters tall, the plant is generally glabrous with an upright habit. Its leaves range from 4 to 30 centimeters long, with basal leaves simple and elliptic to spoon-shaped, while cauline leaves are reduced and may have a terminal lobe significantly larger than lateral lobes. The fruit is lanceolate, measuring 3.5 to 5 millimeters in length.
Habitat: Moist, rocky slopes, conifer forest
Bloom period: Jul-Aug
Elevation: 2700-3200 m
Bioregions: c SNH, n SNE, expected W&I
California counties: Sierra, Mono
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.