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Valerian, common
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Valerian, common

Common Valerian, Valeriana officinalis.
It bears sweetly scented pink or white flowers that attract many fly species, especially hoverflies. It is consumed as food by the larvae of some butterflies and moths. Valerian has been used as a herb in traditional medicine since at least the time of ancient Greece and Rome. Hippocrates described its properties, and Galen later prescribed it as a remedy for insomnia.