Why is it not possible to find a seed source ofr this plant in north america? I teach a plant science course & would love to have my students attemptt o grow this plant & perhaps start in vitro culutres. Any help would be appreciated. See below my attempts to find a source via a rock garden listserv Thanks, David ___________________________ At 08:51 PM 2/8/2008, you wrote: >Valeriana celtica: > >plants only (UK) but I would write and beg for seed >http://www.poyntzfieldherbs.co.uk/c...den&req=yes&doctitle=Suitable for rock garden. > > >Kristl Kristl & David: If you are going to get Celtic Valerian, also get Spikenard (Nardostachts jatamansii); this plant was one of the reasons I originally joined NARGS for, both for figuring out how to provide a suitable growing media for it and similar plants, and to access the plant or viable seed. I found a reference to the essential oil of Valeriana celtica, and it is in the Journal of Essential Oil Research. I know the editor-in-chief, and he may be able to come up with some ideas. The description of the Speick oil was likened to that of a mix of Roman chamomille and patchouli. This is natural, since it contains some of the same compounds as patchouli. Another plant worth investigating might be Zdravits (Bulgarian for health), Geranium macrorrhizum, much more readily available. This contains germacrone and other interesting materials, also with a woody aromatic odor. Richard F. Dufresne 2119 US 220 Alternate South Candor, North Carolina 27229 USA 910-974-4009 World of Salvias: <http://www.eclectasy.com/gallery_of_salvias/index.htm>http://www.eclectasy.com/gallery_of_salvias/index.htm Salvia email list: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Salvia>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Salvia
Looks like it's just not that popular in cultivation. A search for the plants on the RHS Plant Finder (UK) returns 0 results (in 2007-2008). Sorry, I'm coming up with nothing as well.
Thanks for trying. Let me know if you come across a source for seed. Incidentally, I think you'll be happy to know I am successfully using the BPOTD as an effective teaching tool in my HS plant science class: each student picks 4-5 dates during the semester (from the PREVIOUS year) & they are in charge of teaching the class about their plant and characteristics of its family. As an added bonus, the links you provide each day open our discussion to a variety of botanical terms & concepts. Thanks again, David
Why Valeriana celtica in particular? Would other valerians be suitable, such as Valeriana officinalis or Centranthus ruber? Both of those should be much more readily available.
The search for celtica began when I visited Germany for the first time & was introduced to the soap made by the Speick company. It has a very unique & interetsing fragrance. After a bit of research I learned the fragrance is extracted from the Speick plant (Valeriana celtica). All I orginally wanted to do was to grow the plant & see if I could perhaps try to extract the oils from the leaves. I searched on google for a ssed supplier & came up empty. I wondered why, so I contacted the Specik company (see below). I also contacted my major professor & she suggested I join the rock garden listserv to try to find a supplier. Re: other valeriana species - would they have a similar fragrance? Since I used to work with plant cell cultures, I began to wonder if I could find seed of this plant to germinate in vitro & initiate cell cultures. Perhaps a cell line that produces the oil of interest at an abnormally high amount could be selected & perpetuated. These are my ideas. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks, David Here is the original e-mail I received from the Speick company: Dear Mr. Rodriguez, the alpine Speick plant is growing in the Austria Alps called "Nockberge" well above the tree line. Speick is listed under natural legal protection since 1936 and its removal is strictly forbidden. It is not possible to buy the plant or the seeds. From 1928 (the year of our company foundation) up to 1936, before the Speick was listed under natural legal protection, there was no problem to purchase the plants. After this time we had Speick plantations in the Black Forest. But the quality, regarding the concentration of essential oils, was not so good. The Speick plant needs the rough climate and 4 years to grow in order to concentrate the optimum in essential oils in the root. In 1983 our boss managed to persuade the farmers located in the Nockberge to plant the Speick in their gardens. Since this time we provided the opportunity to purchase the Speick plant from the region in the best of quality directly from the farmers. In 1997 a scientific study at the university of Vienna confirmed a better growing by a contolled collection and brought us the unique possibility allowed by the Austria government to purchase the Speick plant dirctly from the National Park. The farmers got the possibility to collect for us a certain amount of the plants since 1997 in the nature reserve outside their gardens. Kind regards Mit freundlichen Gru?en WALTER RAU GmbH & Co. KG Speickwerk i.A. Susanne Gans Leitung Labor Sigmaringer Str. 31-33, 70567 Stuttgart Postfach 81 03 80, 70520 Stuttgart Tel. 0711/ 1613 - 133, Fax 1613 - 130 Eingetragen beim Handelsregister Stuttgart als GmbH & Co. KG HRA 1205 Personlich haftender Gesellschafter: Teuffel Geschaftsfuhrungsgesellschaft mbH HRB 9880 Geschaftsfuhrer: Wikhart Teuffel
