Red Valerian

Description:

From missouribotanicalgarden.org: "Centranthus ruber, commonly called red valerian or Jupiter’s beard, is a well-branched, bushy, clump-forming, woody-based perennial which is valued for its ability to produce, often in poor soils, a showy bloom of star-shaped crimson, pink or white flowers from spring to frost. Although native to the Mediterranean, this plant has escaped gardens and naturalized in certain parts of the United States, particularly along the west coast. Flowers (each to 1/2") appear in dense terminal clusters (cymes) atop upright to relaxed stems rising above the foliage to 1.5-3' tall. Flowers are fragrant. If not deadheaded, flowers give way to dandelion-like seed heads which are typically disbursed around the landscape by wind. Fleshy, sessile, oval to lanceolate leaves (to 4" long) are gray-green."