Hey dear Hive community, first of all I would like to welcome you all to my contribution and hope you have a good start to the new weekend! Today I would like to add something to the ecological benefits of a plant like residential area and hope you can expand your knowledge a little.
Here are some pictures of valerian, which is also known under the scientific name Valeriana officinalis and already has a long history behind it and since ancient times it has been highly appreciated because of its diverse medical effects. The medical effect has already been mentioned by numerous scholars from ancient cultures and the contained active ingredients make the field of application very diverse and what makes is particularly interesting are the soothing properties and especially the roots are of interest for medical use. As always, I would like to mention that it is important in case of illness to always ask your doctor or pharmacist of trust about the right medicine or application in order to avoid possible side effects! It is also interesting that it has a completely different effect on cats than on humans and the four-legged friends are stimulated by it and can put them in a kind of euphoric state and the effect is similar to catnip, but you should be careful with it because too much of it can harm your cats. From spring, the first leaves show up and in winter there is nothing to consider and you can leave it outside and with the rhizomes the plant sprouts out of the ground again and already offers a important source of food for the first insects in spring. Particularly sought after by insects are the flowers, which already show themselves from May and attract with their flowers attract numerous insects such as moths, bees, bumblebees or butterflies, of which some are more and more threatened. Valerian is rich in pollen or nectar and is often visited by wild bees who are becoming increasingly rare and bees are able to recognize UV light and in this way they know when their food source is used up and this plant is very useful for anyone who plays with the idea of creating an insect-friendly garden. Some rare species of caterpillars also like valerian very much and the pollination works through insects and valerian is an extremely easy-care plant that has adapted very well to the climate over the centuries.
Thanks a lot for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new about nature! I captured these pictures with my Camera Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens!