柔垂缬草 rou chui xie cao

Valeriana faberi Graebner; V. nokozanensis Yamamoto; V. tripteroides Handel-Mazzetti (1934), not (Neuman) Kreyer (1930).

Plants 20-80 cm tall, stoloniferous. Rhizomes 2-8 cm; roots fibrous, less than 0.5 mm in diam.; stolons terminating in leafy rosettes. Stems erect, simple, glabrous. Basal leaves simple or 3-lobed, margin crenulate or entire, apex obtuse. Cauline leaves ovate, pinnatisect, glabrous, or puberulent along veins abaxially; segments 3-7, remote; terminal segment ovate or lanceolate, 2-4 × 1-2 cm, glabrous or pubescent abaxially, margin coarsely serrate, apex obtuse or acuminate; lateral segments similar but smaller. Inflorescence paniculiform; involucral bracts and bracteoles linear to linear-lanceolate; bracteoles equal to or slightly shorter than achenes. Corolla reddish, purple, or white, funnelform, 2.5-3.5 mm; lobes oblong to ovate-oblong, shorter than corolla tube. Stamens and style usually exserted. Achenes narrowly ovoid, ca. 3 mm, glabrous or hispidulous. Fl. (Mar-) Apr-Jun, fr. May-Aug.

Forest margins, grassy areas, by streams; 400-3600 m. Anhui (Shucheng), Chongqing, SE Gansu, Guizhou, SE Henan (Shangcheng), W Hubei, Hunan (Xinning), Sichuan, Taiwan (Gaoxiong, Nantou, Xinzhu), Yunnan [Japan].