Valeriana edulis

Last updated

Tobacco root
Valerianaedulis.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Genus: Valeriana
Species:
V. edulis
Binomial name
Valeriana edulis

Valeriana edulis, the tobacco root or edible valerian, a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae, is a dioecious perennial herb native to western and central North America. [2] [3] Despite its common name, tobacco root is not closely related to tobacco, but is instead more closely related to elderberry, honeysuckle, and teasel (Caprifoliaceae s.l.).

Contents

Description

Tobacco root is a long-lived herbaceous plant. Inflorescences are born on elongated, sparsely leaved stems usually around 0.75–1.5 meters tall. Flowers are small (0.5 mm diameter for pistillate flowers, 3–4 mm diameter for stamenate flowers) and cream or white. [4] Flowering occurs in the summer months throughout most of its range. [5]

Evolution

Tobacco root and its close relatives in the Edulis clade of Valeriana is most closely related to the Central American clade. [6] [7]

Ecology

Tobacco root typically grows in moist montane meadows and subalpine parks between 1,600 and 3,500 m (5,200 and 11,500 ft) elevation, [5] although herbarium collections are reported several hundred meters higher. Growth data indicate that individual plants may live up to 300 years. [5]

The small, shallow flowers of tobacco root make its pollen and nectar resources available to a wide range of small, generalist pollinators. In Colorado, solitary bees, flies, and moths are the most frequent floral visitors. [8]

Uses

Tobacco root has long been used as food. One of the earliest written accounts is from the journal of explorer John Charles Frémont in the 1840s: [9]

I ate here, for the first time, the kooyah, or tobacco root, (Valeriana edulis) the principal edible root among the Indians who inhabit the upper waters of the streams on the western side of the mountains. It has a very strong and remarkably peculiar taste and odor, which I can compare to no other vegetable that I am acquainted with, and which to some persons is extremely offensive. It was characterized by Mr. Preuss as the most horrid food he had ever put in his mouth; and when, in the evening, one of the chiefs sent his wife to me with a portion which she had prepared as a delicacy to regale us, the odor immediately drove him out of the lodge; and frequently afterwards he used to beg that when those who liked it had taken what they desired, it might be sent away. To others, however, the taste is rather an agreeable one, and I was afterwards always glad when it formed an addition to our scanty meals. It is full of nutriment; and in its unprepared state is said by the Indians to have very strong poisonous qualities, of which it is deprived by a peculiar process, being baked in the ground for about two days.

The roots are best when collected in fall or spring, when firm. They can be steamed for 24 hours to remove the bad odor, then either used in soup or ground into flour. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Aquilegia</i> Genus of perennial plants (columbine)

Aquilegia is a genus of about 60–70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dipsacales</span> Order of dicotyledonous flowering plants

The Dipsacales are an order of flowering plants, included within the asterid group of dicotyledons. In the APG III system of 2009, the order includes only two families, Adoxaceae and a broadly defined Caprifoliaceae. Some well-known members of the Dipsacales order are honeysuckle, elder, viburnum, and valerian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valerian (herb)</span> Species of flowering plant

Valerian is a perennial flowering plant native to Europe and Asia. In the summer when the mature plant may have a height of 1.5 metres, it bears sweetly scented pink or white flowers that attract many fly species, especially hoverflies of the genus Eristalis. It is consumed as food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the grey pug.

<i>Sambucus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Sambucus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly referred to as elder, elderflower or elderberry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caprifoliaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family is a clade of dicotyledonous flowering plants consisting of about 860 species, in 33, to 42 genera, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. Centres of diversity are found in eastern North America and eastern Asia, while they are absent in tropical and southern Africa.

<i>Passiflora</i> Genus of flowering plants in the passion flower family

Passiflora, known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae.

<i>Heliconia</i> Genus of plants

Heliconia is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku in Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in the tropical forests of these regions. Most species are listed as either vulnerable or data deficient by the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia, and Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valerianaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Valerianaceae Batsch, the valerian family, was a family of flowering plants that is now considered part of the Caprifoliaceae. Plants are generally herbaceous, and their foliage often has a strong, disagreeable odor. They are found native in most regions of the world except for Australia. Some species are cultivated as ornamentals or used in herbal medicine for inducing relaxation and sleep.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marantaceae</span> Family of flowering plants in the Commelinid order Zingiberales

The Marantaceae are a family, the arrowroot family, of flowering plants consisting of 31 genera and around 530 species, defining it as one of the most species-rich families in its order. Species of this family are found in lowland tropical forests of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The majority (80%) of the species are found in the American tropics, followed by Asian (11%) and African (9%) tropics. They are commonly called the prayer-plant family and are also known for their unique secondary pollination presentation.

<i>Pinus monophylla</i> Pine tree found in North America

Pinus monophylla, the single-leaf pinyon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to North America. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and southern California and northern Baja California.

<i>Valeriana</i> Genus of flowering plants in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae

Valeriana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caprifoliaceae, members of which may by commonly known as valerians. It contains many species, including the garden valerian, Valeriana officinalis. Species are native to all continents except Antarctica, with centers of diversity in Eurasia and South America.

<i>Manduca quinquemaculata</i> Species of moth

Manduca quinquemaculata, the five-spotted hawkmoth, is a brown and gray hawk moth of the family Sphingidae. The caterpillar, often referred to as the tomato hornworm, can be a major pest in gardens; they get their name from a dark projection on their posterior end and their use of tomatoes as host plants. Tomato hornworms are closely related to the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta. This confusion arises because caterpillars of both species have similar morphologies and feed on the foliage of various plants from the family Solanaceae, so either species can be found on tobacco or tomato leaves. Because of this, the plant on which the caterpillar is found does not indicate its species.

<i>Lonicera sempervirens</i> Species of honeysuckle

Lonicera sempervirens is a flowering plant species of honeysuckle vine native to the eastern United States which is known for its reddish flowers.

<i>Boletus barrowsii</i> Species of fungus

Boletus barrowsii, also known in English as the white king bolete after its pale colored cap, is an edible and highly regarded fungus in the genus Boletus that inhabits western North America. Found under ponderosa pine and live oak in autumn, it was considered a color variant of the similarly edible B. edulis for many years.

<i>Viburnum edule</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae

Viburnum edule, the squashberry, mooseberry, moosomin, moosewood viburnum, pembina, pimina, highbush cranberry, or lowbush cranberry is a species of shrub native to Canada and the northern parts of the US. It stands roughly 2 m (6.5 ft) tall with many stems and smooth branches.

<i>Valeriana celtica</i> Species of flowering plant

Valeriana celtica is a species of plant in the family Caprifoliaceae. It is also known as Alpine valerian and valerian spikenard. It is endemic to the Eastern Alps and to the Graian and Pennine Alps. It grows as a perennial herb 5 to 15 cm (2.0–5.9 in) tall. Along with Valeriana saxatilis and Valeriana elongata, it forms a clade of dioecious plants. Until the 1930s, it was extensively harvested for export to Asia for use in perfumes. The root has been used as a folk remedy as a nerve tonic.

<i>Diervilla lonicera</i> Species of flowering plant

Diervilla lonicera, commonly referred to as northern bush honeysuckle, low bush honeysuckle, dwarf bush honeysuckle, or yellow-flowered upright honeysuckle, is a deciduous shrub native to the northeastern United States and Canada. Its specific epithet, lonicera refers to its similarity in appearance to the true honeysuckles, genus Lonicera. It attracts bumblebees and is an important source of nectar for them.

<i>Valeriana pauciflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Valeriana pauciflora, commonly called the largeflower valerian, is a flowering plant species in the family Caprifoliaceae. It is native to the Eastern United States, where it is found in the regions of the Interior Low Plateau, the Ohio River drainage, and the Potomac River Valley. In this region, it is found in very nutrient-rich, mesic forest communities, often in stream valleys or lower slopes.

<i>Valeriana dioica</i> Species of plant in the genus Valeriana

Valeriana dioica, the marsh valerian, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to North America, Europe and Anatolia. It is typically found in calcareous fens. It is a dioecious species, with male and female flowers on separate individuals, and it is pollinated by small flies.

References

  1. NatureServe (2024). "Valeriana edulis". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Valeriana edulis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team.
  3. "Valeriana edulis". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
  4. Meyer, F. G. 1951. Valeriana in North America and the West Indies (Valerianaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 38:377–503.
  5. 1 2 3 Soule, J. D. 1981. Ecological consequences of dioecism in plants: a case study of sex differences, sex ratios and population dynamics of Valeriana edulis Nutt. Michigan State University, East Lansing.
  6. Bell, C. D. 2007. Phylogenetic placement and biogeography of the North American species of Valerianella (Valerianaceae: Dipsacales) based on chloroplast and nuclear DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 44:929–941.
  7. Bell, C. D., A. Kutschker, and M. T. K. Arroyo. 2012. Phylogeny and diversification of Valerianaceae (Dipsacales) in the southern Andes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 63:724–737.
  8. Muenchow, G. 1985. The evolution of dioecy: patterns and pollination. University of Colorado Boulder. http://libraries.colorado.edu/record=b1700355~S9
  9. Frémont, J. C. 1934. The expeditions of John Charles Frémont. (D. Jackson and M. L. Spence, Eds.). University of Illinois Press, Chicago.
  10. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 89. ISBN   978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC   244766414.