Valeriana woodsiana (synonym Valerianella radiata), common name beaked cornsalad, is a plant native to the United States.[2] It is an annual self pollinating flowering plant and besides being edible there are no known uses.[3] Valerianella radiata flowers from April- May.[4]

Valeriana woodsiana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Dipsacales
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Genus: Valeriana
Species:
V. woodsiana
Binomial name
Valeriana woodsiana
Synonyms[1]
  • Fedia radiata (L.) Michx. (1803)
  • Fedia woodsiana Torr. & A.Gray (1841)
  • Valeriana locusta var. radiata L. (1753)
  • Valeriana radiata (L.) Willd.(1797)
  • Valeriana valerianella Christenh. & Byng (2018)
  • Valerianella radiata (L.) Dufr. (1811)
  • Valerianella radiata f. demareei Egg.Ware (1983)
  • Valerianella radiata var. fernaldii Dyal (1938)
  • Valerianella radiata f. fernaldii (Dyal) Egg.Ware (1983)
  • Valerianella radiata var. missouriensis Dyal (1938)
  • Valerianella radiata f. parviflora (Dyal) Egg.Ware (1983)
  • Valerianella stenocarpa var. parviflora Dyal (1938)
  • Valerianella woodsiana (Torr. & A.Gray) Walp. (1843)

Description

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Valeriana woodsiana typically grows to a height of 0.6 m (2 ft).[3] Flowers are perfect.[4] It has 5 white flower petals that are arranged bilaterally symmetrical with fused sepals.[4] The leaves are simple, entire, and toothed[4] with opposite arrangement of two leaves per node on stem.[5] It has 3 stamens,[5] one pistil with three carpels, an inferior ovary with 3 locules and one ovule per locule, slightly 3-lobed stigmas and produces dry fruit 2 - 2.5 mm long.[4] Valerianella radiata has a corolla length of less than 2 mm.[6] The fruit is usually yellowish and glabrous to finely pubescent and the fertile cells are slightly narrower than sterile cells.[7] A groove forms between the narrow and fertile sides of the fruit.[7] It is a self-fertile plant due to having both male and female organs.[3] Stems are hollow and ascend to erect, dichotomously branching (an important diagnostic character), angled, and glabrous to sparse pubescence on stem wing margins.[4] Basal leaves are sessile, short-petiolate, spatulate, obovate with bases fused around the stem, glabrous along margins and midvein of the undersurface.[4] Inflorescences are clusters that are small, dense, and usually paired on branch tips that have lanceolate bracts to narrowly elliptic.[4]

Distribution and habitat

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Valeriana woodsiana is native to the deciduous forest regions of the eastern United States.[8] This species is commonly found in creek beds, roadsides, ditches, clearings, hilltops, and pasture lands.[8] Valeriana woodsiana can be found in areas ranging from moderate shade to full sunlight exposure.[6] It may be present in Japan as an introduced plant. [9]

Conservation status

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It is listed as a special concern and believed extinct in Connecticut,[10] and listed as endangered in New Jersey. It is listed as a weed in other parts of the United States.[2]

Taxonomy

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Valeriana woodsiana is an annual, meaning that it grows from a seed, produces seeds, and dies all within a growing season, leaving dormant seeds.[11] Valeriana woodsiana has funnelform flowers which commonly leads to inbreeding.[8] This species has two varieties: var. radiata and var. fernaldii.[8] The species is known by various synonyms including Valerianella radiata, which was originally described by Linnaeus [8] but was later renamed by Pierre Dufresne.[12]  

 
Valerianella radiata herbarium sheet.

Toxicity

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This plant is not known to be toxic.[3]

Edibility

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Young raw leaves and the roots of the plant are edible.[3] Roots of plant are an unlikely food source due to their minuscule size.[3]

Weed control

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Valeriana woodsiana is a common weed found in some gardens of the southeastern United States due to suitability in many types of soils and pH levels.[3] Applications of 0.11 kg glyphosate/ha was used to controlled V. woodsiana in non-crop situations[13].

References

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  1. ^ Valeriana woodsiana (Torr. & A.Gray) Christenh. & Byng. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Plants Profile for Valerianella radiata (beaked cornsalad)". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Valerianella radiata Beaked Cornsalad PFAF Plant Database". pfaf.org. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Valerianella radiata page". www.missouriplants.com. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  5. ^ a b "Valerianella radiata (beaked corn-salad): Go Botany". gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  6. ^ a b Wallis, C. S. "Valerianella in Cherokee County, Oklahoma." Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science. 1952.
  7. ^ a b Cemper, Amanda B. "Valerianella radiata (Native) 4." (2011).
  8. ^ a b c d e Ware, Donna M. Eggers (January 1983). "Genetic Fruit Polymorphism in North American Valerianella (Valerianaceae) and Its Taxonomic Implications". Systematic Botany. 8 (1): 33–44. doi:10.2307/2418561. ISSN 0363-6445. JSTOR 2418561.
  9. ^ "Valerianella radiata (Willd.) Dufr". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  10. ^ "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 31 December 2017.(Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)
  11. ^ "What Is An Annual, Perennial, Biennial?". aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  12. ^ "Dufresne, Pierre | International Plant Names Index". www.ipni.org. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  13. ^ "Weed control in dormant turf grass with glyphosate". www.cabi.org. 1984. Retrieved 2021-11-12.