Valerianaceae
YASIN NASIR
Botany Department, Gordon College, Rawalpindi.
Annual or perennial herbs, rarely shrubs. Leaves exstipulate, opposite or in basal rosettes. Inflorescence a dichasial cyme, often changing to monochasium, sometimes paniculate or capitate. Flowers usually small, zygomorphic, bisexual or unisexual by abortion. Calyx persistent, epigynous, rolled or unrolled in flower. Corolla tubular, salver - or funnel-shaped, usually gibbous at the base, 3-5-lobed. Stamens 1-4, epipetalous, alternating with the corolla lobes. Carpels 3, united; ovary uni- or tri-locular, with only one fertile locule; ovule pendulous, anatropous; style simple; stigma simple or 2-3-lobed. Fruit an achene, with a wing, an awn or pappose calyx.
A family of 13 genera and over 400 species, chiefly confined to the temperate regions, with the exception of Australia and the Andes in S. America. Represented in Pakistan by 3 genera and about 22 species.
Acknowledgements: We are grateful to the United States Department of Agriculture for financing this research under P.L.480. Thanks are also due to Messrs. B.L., Burtt, I.C. Hedge, Miss J. Lamond of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and to Dr. V. Grubov of the Komarov Botanical Institute, Leningrad, for going through the manuscript and giving valuable suggestions. We would like to thank the Directors of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K), The Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (E), and the Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar (PPFI) for the loan of specimens.
