Common Name: Tobacco Root

General Information

Valeriana edulis is a perennial plant that can grow up to 75cm tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.

Known Hazards

Some caution is advised with the use of this plant. At least one member of the genus is considered to be poisonous raw[] and Valeriana officinalis is a powerful nervine and sedative that can become habit-forming.

Botanical References

Range

N. America - British Columbia and Montana to central Mexico in the west, Ontario to Illinois, Indiana and Ohio in the east

Habitat

Prairies, sloughs and hillsides[]. Open moist sites, moist meadows, ditches, swamps and prairies, sometimes on saline soils[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.75 m
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[].
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Valeriana edulis is treated as comprising 3 forms. The subspecies edulis is widespread in western N. America from British Colombia to central Mexico, though absent from California. The subspecies procera is only found in southwest Mexico. The var ciliata is found in central to eastern N. America from Ontario to Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

Edible Uses

Root - cooked[, , , ]. It requires a long steaming[]. The native people would slow-bake it for about 2 days in an earth oven and then eat it as a vegetable[, ]. A very strong and peculiar taste that can be extremely offensive to some people but agreeable or even desireable to others[, ]. Indeed, some people liken the taste to chewing tobacco and the odour to be like unwashed feet[]. The root can be cooked and then dried and ground into a powder to be used in soups, bread making etc[, , , , ]. The roots can be more than 30cm long and 5cm wide, they are often quite abundant and are easy to harvest with a spade[].
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

The roots are used medicinally[].
Th roots of subspecies procera (which is restricted to western Mexico), have a very strong, disagreeable flavour and are used primarily as a potent medicinal and the source of natural medicinal valerian[].

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[].

Other Uses

None known

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.