Sitka valerian is a mainstay of moist subalpine meadows in the Pacific Northwest. Its stems rise from a stout underground rhizome to about knee or waist height, each with two to five pairs of large leaves divided into coarsely toothed segments. At the top sits a dense, rounded cluster of small white to pale pink flowers, each a little tube with three stamens poking well out of it.
The flowers have a heavy, sweet scent, and bees, flies and sawflies visit them through the summer. As the seeds form, the cluster loosens and spreads, and each seed grows a crown of feathery bristles that opens up and lets the wind carry it away. Underground, the rhizome has a sour smell that grows stronger after the first frost of fall.
On Mt. Hood, look for Sitka valerian in damp meadows, thickets and open forest from middle elevations up toward timberline. It blooms from early to late summer, and the feathery seed heads follow as the season winds down.
How to identify it
Stems 30 to 120 cm tall with 2 to 5 pairs of opposite leaves, each divided into 3 to 7 coarsely toothed segments with the end segment largest. Flowers are small, white to pinkish, and packed into a rounded cluster 2.5 to 8 cm wide, with stamens sticking out beyond the petals. Seeds carry a crown of feathery bristles.
Habitat
Moist meadows, thickets and open forest at middle to high elevations in the mountains, from Alaska to California. On Mt. Hood it belongs to the subalpine meadows and forest openings near timberline.
Sightings in the forest
512 research-grade sightings in Mt. Hood National Forest on iNaturalist, most recently on August 28, 2026. See them on iNaturalist →