Taxon: Valeriana officinalis L.

Summary

Genus:

Valeriana

Family:

Caprifoliaceae

Subfamily:

Valerianoideae

Nomen number:

400139

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 1:31. 1753

Comment:

non Valeriana officinalis auct. (= Valeriana fauriei Briq.)

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

08/28/2008 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

6 (4 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Valeriana officinalis L. subsp. officinalis (0 active accession[s])
Valeriana officinalis L. subsp. sambucifolia (J. C. Mikan ex Pohl) Čelak. (0 active accession[s])
Valeriana officinalis L. subsp. tenuifolia (Vahl) Schübl. & G. Martens (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Images (4 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Connecticut Invasive Plants Council. 2009. Connecticut invasive plants list.
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. 10:426-427.
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 236.
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
Farnsworth, N. R. & D. D. Soejarto. 1988. Global importance of medicinal plants (unpublished draft manuscript rev. 23)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Fu, Y. C. et al. 1977-. Flora intramongolica.
Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Jarvis, C. 2007. Order out of chaos: Linnean plant names and their types
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Laasimer, L. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of the Baltic countries; compendium of vascular plants.
Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
National Plant Board. 2008-. National Plant Board federal and state quarantine summaries
Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Common names

Language	Name	Alternate name	note	seq	Citation
English	common valerian			1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	garden-heliotrope			1	Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
English	valerian			1	McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Chinese	xie cao	缬草		2	Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
English (Canada)	common valerian		Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 236.
French	valériane officinale			2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
French (Canada)	valériane officinale		Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 236.
German	echter Arznei-Baldrian			2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
Swedish	läkevänderot			2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Transliterated Russian	valeriana lekarstvennaâ			2	Laasimer, L. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of the Baltic countries; compendium of vascular plants.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation	Dagestan		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China		n.	Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Hokkaidô		Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Honshu		Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Kyushu		Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Shikoku		Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Korea			Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation	Kurile Islands	s.	Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation	Primorye		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Russian Far East	Russian Federation	Sakhalin		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia	Eastern Siberia		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Siberia	Russian Federation-Western Siberia	Western Siberia		Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Iran			Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Belarus			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Estonia			Laasimer, L. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of the Baltic countries; compendium of vascular plants.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Latvia			Laasimer, L. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of the Baltic countries; compendium of vascular plants.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Lithuania			Laasimer, L. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of the Baltic countries; compendium of vascular plants.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Moldova			Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Russian Federation-European part	European part	incl. arctic region	Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		incl. Krym	Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Austria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Belgium			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Czechoslovakia			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Germany			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Hungary			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Netherlands			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Poland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Middle Europe	Switzerland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Denmark			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Finland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Iceland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Ireland			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Norway			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	Sweden			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Northern Europe	United Kingdom			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Albania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Bulgaria			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Former Yugoslavia			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Romania			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
1	Native	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Spain			Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.
4	Naturalized					natzd. elsewhere	Connecticut Invasive Plants Council. 2009. Connecticut invasive plants list.

Native
Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Iran, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russian Federation [Dagestan]
SIBERIA: Russian Federation-Western Siberia [Western Siberia], Russian Federation-Eastern Siberia [Eastern Siberia]
RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation [Kurile Islands (s.), Primorye, Sakhalin]
CHINA: China (n.)
EASTERN ASIA: Korea, Japan [Hokkaidô, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku], Taiwan

Europe

NORTHERN EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
MIDDLE EUROPE: Czechoslovakia, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland
EASTERN EUROPE: Russian Federation-European part [European part (incl. arctic region)], Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine (incl. Krym)
SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France, Portugal

Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)

Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Connecticut Invasive Plants Council. 2009. Connecticut invasive plants list.
Komarov, V. L. et al., eds. 1934-1964. Flora SSSR.
Laasimer, L. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of the Baltic countries; compendium of vascular plants.
Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. 1964-1980. Flora europaea.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Food additives	flavoring		Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2
Materials	essential oils		Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. 10:426-427.
Medicines	source of pharmaceutical agent	valepotriates	Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicines	source of pharmaceutical agent	valepotriates	McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Medicines	source of pharmaceutical agent	valepotriates	Farnsworth, N. R. & D. D. Soejarto. 1988. Global importance of medicinal plants (unpublished draft manuscript rev. 23)

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=400139. Accessed 15 April 2026.