Valerian

Valerian
(Valeriana officinalis) G

We must urge against driving while under the effects
of Valerian taken internally.

Folk Names: All-Heal, Amantilla, Bloody Butcher, Capon's trailer, Cat's Valerian, English Valerian, Fragrant Valerian, Garden Heliotrope, Phu, Red Valerian, St. George's Herb, Sete Wale, Set Well, Vandal Root
Gender: Feminine
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Powers: Love, Sleep, Purification, Protection
Magickal Uses: The rather ill-smelling root, powdered, is used in protective sachets, hung in the home to guard it against lightning, and placed in pillows to aid in falling asleep. A sprig of the plant pinned to a woman's clothing will cause  men to 'follow her like children.' Valerian root is also added to love sachets. If a couple is quarreling introduce some of this herb into the area and all will soon be calm.
   The Greeks hung a sprig of valerian under a window to charm away evil.
   Valerian root, powdered, is sometimes used as 'graveyard dust.'
[From Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herb s)

Valerian

   One of the folk names of Valerian roots is All-heal, which gives an indication of its medicinal properties and the way in which it was valued.  Two of the reasons why it dropped out of favor are its vaguely unpleasant odor and slightly bitter flavor. Regrettably today we seem far more concerned that a thing should be pleasing to the palate, rather than effective in its use. However, Valerian tincture can be made more palatable by adding fruit juice and holding your nose when you drink it. Alternatively, tablets are also available.

   Valerian acts as a calmative and nerve sedative, and reduces pain and promotes sleep. It can be used at times of stress to soothe and relax, and is useful if you are trying to give up any kind of habit; from drinking or smoking to regret or negative thinking.

   Valerian is also anti-spasmodic and is helpful in relieving any kind of cramp, or even 'night jumps'. Valerian is sometimes added to incense when dispelling negative energies from the home, although it is best to burn it with windows open! It has also been traditionally used in love sachets and potions. Powdered Valerian root is sometimes used as 'graveyard dust'.

   As Valerian is extremely attractive to some cats, prompting them to roll on it chew it and apparently become intoxicated by it, you may need to protect the plant if you wish to grow some.
[From: "The Real Witches' Year" by Kate West]

The plant is found throughout Europe and Northern Asia, and is common in England in marshy thickets and on the borders of ditches and rivers, where its tall stems may generally be seen in the summer towering above the usual herbage, the erect, sturdy growth of the plant, the rich, dark green of the leaves, their beautiful form, and the crowning masses of light-coloured flowers, making the plant conspicuous.

Description---The roots tend to merge into a short, conical root-stock or erect rhizome, the development of which often proceeds for several years before a flowering stem is sent up, but slender horizontal branches which terminate in buds are given off earlier, and from these buds proceed aerial shoots or stolons, which produce fresh plants where they take root. Only one stem arises from the root, which attains a height of 3 or 4 feet. It is round, but grooved and hollow, more or less hairy, especially near the base. It terminates in two or more pairs of flowering stems, each pair being placed at right angles to those above and below it. The lower flowering stems lengthen so as to place their flowers nearly or often quite on a level with the flowers borne by the upper branches, forming a broad and flattened cluster at the summit, called a cyme. The leaves are arranged in pairs and are united at their bases. Each leaf is made up of a series of lance-shaped segments, more or less opposite to one another on each side of the leaf (pinnate). The leaflets vary very much in number, from six to ten pairs as a rule, and vary also in breadth, being broad when few in number and narrower when more numerous; they are usually 2 to 3 inches long. The margins are indented by a few coarsely-cut teeth. The upper surface is strongly veined, the under surface is paler and frequently more or less covered with short, soft hairs. The leaves on the stem are attached by short, broad sheaths, the radical leaves are larger and long-stemmed and the margins more toothed.


The flowers are in bloom from June to September. They are small, tinged with pink and flesh colour, with a somewhat peculiar, but not exactly unpleasant smell. The corolla is tubular, and from the midst of its lobes rise the stamens, only three in number, though there are five lobes to the corolla. The limb of the calyx is remarkable for being at first inrolled and afterwards expanding in the form of a feathery pappus, which aids the dissemination of the fruit. The fruit is a capsule containing one oblong compressed seed. Apart from the flowers, the whole plant has a foetid smell, much accentuated when bruised.

Although more often growing in damp situations, Valerian is also met with on dry, elevated ground. It is found throughout Britain, but in the northern counties is more often found on higher and dryer ground - dry heaths and hilly pastures - than in the south, and then is usually smaller, not more than 2 feet high, with narrow leaves and hairy, and is often named sylvestris. The medicinal qualities of this form are considered to be especially strong.

Though none of the varieties differ greatly from the typical form, Valerian is more subject than many plants to deviations, which has caused several more or less permanent varieties to be named by various botanists. One of the chief is V. sambucifolia (Mikan), the name signifying 'Elder-leaved,' from the form of its foliage, the segments being fewer (only four to six pairs) and broader than in the type form, and having somewhat of the character of the elder.

Cultivation---Valerian does well in all ordinary soils, but prefers rich, heavy loam, well supplied with moisture.
 
Propagation may also be by seed, either sown when ripe in cold frames, or in March in gentle heat, or in the open in April. In the first two cases, transplant in May to permanent quarters. But to ensure the best alkaloidal percentage, it is best to transplant and cultivate the daughter plants of the wild Valerian.
Preference is given in collecting to root offsets - daughter plants and young flowering plants, which develop towards the close of summer, at the end of slender runners given off by the perennial rhizomes of old plants. These should be set 1 foot apart in rows, 2 or 3 feet apart. The soil should first be treated with farmyard manure, and after planting it is well to give liquid manure from time to time, as well as plenty of water. The soil must be well manured to secure a good crop. Weeding requires considerable attention.
 
Harvesting and Preparation for Market---The flowering tops must be cut off as they appear, thus enabling the better development of the rhizome. Many of the young plants do not flower in the first year, but produce a luxuriant crop of leaves, and yield rhizome of good quality in the autumn.


In September or early October, all the tops are cut off with a scythe and the rhizomes are harvested, the clinging character of the Derbyshire soil not allowing them to be left in the ground longer.

The roots of Valerian are of similar colour to the erect rhizome, about 1/10 inch thick, striated longitudinally and usually not shrivelled to any great extent; a transverse section shows a thick bark and small wood.
Excerpts from: http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/v/valeri01.html