Species: Valeriana sitchensis

Marsh Valerian

Species

Plants

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Plants and lichens of Puget Trough

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Classification

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Anthophyta

Class

Dicotyledoneae

Order

Dipsacales

Family

Valerianaceae

Genus

Valeriana

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.160056

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Sitka Valerian - Sitka valerian - valériane de Sitka

Informal Taxonomy

Plants, Vascular - Flowering Plants - Valerian Family

Formal Taxonomy

Plantae - Anthophyta - Dicotyledoneae - Dipsacales - Valerianaceae - Valeriana - Valeriana sitchensis, as treated here (following Kartesz 1994 and 1999), excludes Valeriana scouleri and V. uliginosa, each sometimes considered varieties or subspecies of a more broadly viewed V. sitchensis. LEM 23Jan01.

Ecology and Life History

Short General Description

Erect herbaceous perennial (0.3 to 1.2 m) with stout, branched rhizomes. Each stem has 2-5 opposite compound leaves with 3-5 pinnately divided leaflets. White to pink flowers are dense and showy and produce single-seeded fruits with a feathery plume (Haeussler 1990).

Ecology Comments

Valeriana sitchensis produces prominent flowers visited by bumblebees, flies, butterflies and skippers. Also reproduces through rhizomes, but self-crossing is probably common. This species is an early to late successional herbaceous species that grows both in open and shaded conditions. Plants tend to form dense colonies, though widely dispersed throughout range (Vance et al. in press).

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

2001-11-29

Global Status Last Changed

2001-11-29

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

The range of Valeriana sitchensis in Canada includes Yukon, Mackenzie, British Columbia and Alberta. In the U.S. it occurs in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, northwestern California, Idaho and Montana.

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.160056