Valerian is a British native and a powerful herb which has had centuries of use in inducing sleep and calming nerves. The dried, ground roots are used as a herbal tea.

John Gerard, in his 1597 Herball, states that his contemporaries found Valerian "excellent for those burdened and for such as be troubled with croup and other like convulsions, and also for those that are bruised with falls." He says that the dried root was valued as a medicine by the poor in the north of England and the south of Scotland, so that "no broth or pottage or physicall meats be worth anything if Setewale [Valerian] be not there."

Valeriana officinalis has various other common names, including Drunken Slots, Heal-all, Garden Heliotrope, St George's Herb, Cut-finger and Cut-heal.

In the garden it can be planted in the herb bed, border or large container. The pink flowers put on a display in mid-summer.