Garden valerian.
Valeriana hortensis.
Also see: Garden Valerian - Wild Valerian.
A tall and beautiful plan!, native of the mountainous parts of Italy, and common in our gardens. It is three feet high. The stalk is upright round, striated, and hollow. The leaves which grow from the root, are long and somewhat broad; some of these are divided deeply on each side, others are entire; all have a broad and round end. Those on the stalks are smaller, and they are all deeply divided. The flowers stand in large tufts, in the form of umbels, at the tops of the stalks and branches; they are small and white. The root is long, irregular, and moderately thick; it creeps under the surface of the ground, and has a strong smell; its colour is brown, and it is full of fibres.
This root is used dry; the druggists call it phu: it is good in fevers and suppressions of the menses, for it is diaporetic, and good against all obstructions. It works also by urine, and it is warm up on the stomach, and good against disorders of the nerves.
