Common name:
Marsh valerian
Family:
Scientific name:
Valeriana dioica
Main flower color:
Range:
England and Wales
Height:
Between 10 and 30 cm
Habitat:
Damp grassland, bogs, fens
Flowers:
Small, five-lobed, dark pink in bud becoming pale pink to white. Dioecious; male flowers have five stamens topped by pink-purple anthers, while female flowers have a white pistil with three-lobed stigma. In dense, flat-topped clusters around 4 cm in diameter for staminate plants, or 2 cm for pistillate plants, for which the flowers are also somewhat smaller, 1-2 mm across
Leaves:
Opposite, hairless. Basal leaves, up to 3 cm in length, are undivided, though partially lobed, while all other leaves are sessile and pinnatifid, the lobes becoming narrower towards the top of the stem
Season:
May to June
Rarity:
★★★★★
