Tobacco Root (Valeriana obovata)
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Full sun
Cultivation
Succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and only just cover the seed because it requires light for germination. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant out into their permanent positions in the summer if sufficient growth has been made. If the plants are too small to plant out, grow them on in the greenhouse or frame for their first winter and plant them out early in the following summer. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.
Edible uses
Root - cooked. Some caution is advised, see notes above on toxicity. Seed. No more details are given but the seeds of other members of this genus are parched and then eaten.
Medicinal uses
The whole plant, but especially the root, is antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, hypnotic, powerfully nervine, sedative and stimulant.
Habitat
Open moist sites, moist meadows, ditches, swamps and prairies, sometimes on saline soils.
Native range
Western N. America.