Scientific name: Centranthus ruber (L.) DC.
Common name: Red Valerian
Description
Habit: A hairless and bushy perennial, to 80 cm high.
Stems: Erect, slightly woody at the base.
Leaves: Opposite, slightly pale bluish, without stipules, undivided, oval to lanceolate, untoothed, upper leaves stalkless.
Flowers: Red, rarely pink or white, nearly actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, in dense and elongated panicles; sepals united, calyx teeth minute or forming a ring in flower; petals united, with a long tube and 5 lobes, 1 lobe of corolla widely separated from the others and forming a long slender spur at the base; stamens 1 or 3, attached to the corolla; ovary inferior, 1-celled, style solitary.
Fruits: 1-seeded nut.
Habitat: Walls, waste ground, limestone pavement.Distribution: Well naturalised in several places.
Native status: Not native
Of conservation interest: No