Tobacco Root
Valeriana obovata

Family: Valerianaceae

What it is like

Valeriana obovata is a PERENNIAL growing to 1.2 m (4ft). The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 1.2

Where it is found

Open moist sites, moist meadows, ditches, swamps and prairies, sometimes on saline soils.

Western N. America.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

How it is used

Food

Rating: 2

Root - cooked. It requires a long steaming. The Indians would slow-bake it for about 2 days. A very strong and peculiar taste that is offensive to some people but agreeable to others. The root can be cooked and then dried and ground into a powder. 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.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Medicine

Rating: 1

The whole plant, but especially the root, is antispasmodic, carminative, diuretic, hypnotic, powerfully nervine, sedative and stimulant. The crushed root has been rubbed on parts affected by rheumatism, swollen bruises, painful bleeding cuts and wounds. The root has been used as a tapeworm medicine. Use with caution.

Antispasmodic: Relaxes muscular spasms and cramps, calming nervous irritation.

Carminative: Reduces flatulence and expels gas from the intestines.

Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.

Hypnotic: Induces sleep.

Nervine: Stimulates and calms the nerves.

Sedative: Gently calms, reducing nervousness, distress and irritation.

Stimulant: Excites or quickens activity of the physiological processes. Faster acting than a tonic but differing from a narcotic in that it does not give a false sense of well-being.

Other

Rating:

How it is grown

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagating it: 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.

Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;

Habit: Perennial

Hardiness:

Growth:

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

The plant is considered to be poisonous raw.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

V. edulis. Nutt.