Valerian Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Habitat Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Broad-fruited Cornsalad

Valerianella rimosa

April-July

An annual of arable land, generally found on fields margins which have escaped intensive management. It occurs on sand, calcareous clay and chalk soils, often as part of a species-rich annual community. Other habitats include quarry edges and spoil-tips. Seed may be relatively short-lived, and germination occurs in spring and autumn. Lowland. This species is Critically Endangered.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Common Valerian

(Fragrant Valerian)

Valeriana officinalis

June-August

A perennial herb found in a wide range of habitats. Subspecies sambucifolia occurs in damp grassland, marshes, fens, water margins and ditches, and wet woods throughout the country; subspecies collina in dry calcareous grasslands, hedge banks and woodland rides in South and Central Britain. Lowland to 805 m on Mt Brandon (South Kerry).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form from Strood in Kent

Cornsalad

(European Cornsalad, Common Cornsalad)

Valerianella locusta

April-July

A winter-annual which occurs with other annuals on thin soils around rock outcrops and on scree, and on sand dunes and coastal shingle. It also grows in a wide range of disturbed habitats, including walls, gravel paths, railway tracks, in paving, gardens and, rarely, on arable land. Coastal populations are often the dwarf var. dunensis. The species is also commercially grown as a winter salad crop. 0-365 m (Wormhill, Derbys.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form from Rochester in Kent

Giant Valerian

(Pyrenean Valerian)

Valeriana pyrenaica

June-July

A perennial herb, naturalised in damp woods and shady hedge banks. Generally lowland, but reaching 305 m near Bridgend, Dufftown (Banffs.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Italian Cornsalad

(Hairy-fruited Cornsalad)

Valerianella eriocarpa

April-July

A winter-annual of drought-prone, stony substrates, found on cliff edges, calcareous banks, walls, quarries and other dry open habitats. It has been considered as native on bare and disturbed limestone and hard chalk in Dorset and the Isle of Wight (Wigginton, 1999). Some older records are from arable land, where it was probably casual. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Keeled Cornsalad

(Keeled-fruited Cornsalad)

Valerianella carinata

April-July

This autumn-germinating annual is found mainly in sites associated with human activity. Habitats include walls, gravel paths, paving, railway tracks and gardens. It does not occur in arable land. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Marsh Valerian

(Northern Valerian)

Valeriana dioica

May-June

A perennial herb of calcareous mires, marshy grassland, water-meadows, flushes, Salix fen-carr and Alnus woods. 0-780 m (Cross Fell, Cumberland).

Female Flower from Teesdale

Flowers

Foliage from Teesdale

Form from Teesdale

Red Valerian

(Red-spur Valerian)

Centranthus ruber

May onwards

A perennial herb thoroughly naturalised on sea-cliffs, limestone rock outcrops and pavements, rocky waste ground, in quarries, on railway banks, on old walls and buildings, and in other well-drained, disturbed and open habitats. Lowland.

Flower from Rochester in Kent. Photo from BritishFlora

Flowers from Rochester in Kent. Photo from BritishFlora

Foliage from Rochester in Kent. Photo from BritishFlora

Form from Rochester in Kent. Photo from BritishFlora

Smooth-fruited Cornsalad

(Narrow-fruited Cornsalad)

Valerianella dentata

April-July

An annual of arable land, especially on chalky soils, but locally also on sand and calcareous clay. It can be found most frequently in the corners of fields and along field edges which have escaped intensive management. It can germinate both in spring and autumn, but is most frequently found in spring-sown crops. It has moderately long-lived seeds. Lowland.

Flower from St Justinians on 16 July

Flowers

Foliage

Form

British Native Plants List of Edible Plants:-

"I thought it would be useful to include native plant lists from different regions of the world. This list is from British Isles (including Ireland and the Channel Islands) and was compiled by Professor Clive Stace of the University of Leicester for the FFF conference on Native Plants held at the Linnean Society of London, June 1997. It can be found here at the postcode plants database."

Suppliers of British native-origin seeds and plants:-

"Flora locale maintains a list of suppliers who should be able to supply seeds and/or plants of known British (and sometimes known local) native-origin. Although not all their stock will necessarily be of British native-origin, they should be able to provide details of provenance on request.

View Flora locale's list of suppliers - follow the "Suppliers of native flora" link.

You may also wish to view the Really Wild Flowers site, which contains a wealth of information about creating habitats and cultivating native species."