Valeriana capitata ssp. acutiloba (Valerian)
Valerianaceae (Valerian Family)

Montane, subalpine. Meadows, openings. Summer.

"Valerian" refers either to a Roman Emperor or (more probably) to the Latin word for strength, "valere", from the belief in Valerian’s potency as a nerve tonic and relaxant. "Capitata" (as in "decapitate") refers to the rounded "head-shaped" flower.

Linnaeus named this genus in 1753. Rydberg collected the first of this species in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Eastern Colorado around 1900 and named the plant Valeriana acutiloba.  Frederick Meyer renamed the plant Valeriana capitata in 1951.