Alpine Valerian
In short
Summary of findings for quick reference
Speik can easily disappear among mountain grasses. Its scented root, however, was a valued commodity. Valeriana celtica grows in the Alps and is known as Celtic nard in historical plant literature. The valerian root in the EMA monograph comes from Valeriana officinalis, a different species. Its sleep indication does not belong to Speik.
Pliny described saliunca as a plant with short leaves and numerous roots. He valued its scent in clothes and mentioned the economic value of harvesting it. Centuries later, Maud Grieve recorded that Styrian farmers collected the roots and exported them through Trieste to Turkey and Egypt, then onward to India and Ethiopia. This is a history of fragrance and trade, not a basis for a modern treatment claim.
In the Carinthian Nockberge, Speik is harvested for cosmetics under an exemption permit. It is legally partially protected in Carinthia, and its roots must not be dug up without a permit. Fragrances can irritate sensitive skin or cause contact allergy. Species-specific clinical data and an established dose for internal medicinal use are lacking. Avoid self-made remedies taken by mouth. The safety of such use during pregnancy, breastfeeding and childhood is also unresolved.
Clinical evidence ↔ Historical significanceWe display two separate evidence categories: clinical evidence from modern trials and historical significance from documented healing tradition. Both are valuable, but they answer different questions.Read more
In every encyclopedia entry we evaluate two distinct categories of evidence. Clinical evidence as used in trials meets a narrower but scientifically essential bar. At the same time, the hundreds of thousands of plant species worldwide have only partially been captured and tested in modern studies.
Alongside the trial picture our researchers compile a comprehensive overview of where and since when a plant has been used across different traditions of natural medicine. When a plant has been used as a medicinal plant in many cultures across many generations, that historical significance deserves to be visible too.
Our position: a truly informative overview emerges only when both categories sit side by side. We communicate transparently what counts as what.
Overview
Alpine valerian, Valeriana celtica, is a small aromatic of the Alps. Noric Speik is particularly well known in Carinthia. Its aromatic roots and rhizome are used. Common valerian, Valeriana officinalis, is a different species. Its medicinal sleep and calming uses cannot be transferred to Speik.
Ancient texts describe Celtic nard and saliunca. Their identification with Valeriana celtica rests on botanical and philological research. Pliny records scenting clothes, while Grieve later describes bath fragrance and root exports through Trieste. Harvesting for cosmetics under permit is now a focus in the Nockberge. The work discussed here provides no clinical evidence of efficacy for this species.
History
Dioscorides describes Celtic nard in book one of De materia medica, chapter 1.8 in the Greek edition used here. His description concerns the small plant collected with its roots and its scent. Pliny discusses saliunca in book twenty-one of Natural History. Its later identification as Valeriana celtica is a historical botanical interpretation. Stirling argues for it mainly on philological grounds in his paper published in 1991/1992.
In A Modern Herbal, published in 1931, Maud Grieve describes a trading route for Valeriana celtica. Styrian farmers collected roots sent through Trieste to Turkey and Egypt, then onward to India and Ethiopia. She names scenting baths as a use. The cosmetics company Speick also describes Speik as an incense plant of the Rauhnächte, the nights between Christmas and Epiphany. This account of fragrance tradition comes from the manufacturer. The account contains no clinical evidence of an effect.
Pliny gives a vivid glimpse of everyday life. In chapter XXI.20 he describes saliunca as a densely matted plant with short leaves and numerous roots. It gave clothes a pleasant scent. He even compares the value of harvesting it with the proceeds of a mine. Yet he considered its short leaves unsuitable for garlands. Its fragrance was valued despite the lack of a showy floral display.
Speick soap has a more recent history. According to the manufacturer, Walter Rau incorporated the plant extract into a personal care soap launched in 1928. The name thus remained attached to an everyday use. The current extract’s sourcing from controlled wild harvesting connects the cosmetics story with harvesting under permit in the Nockberge.
Mechanism
Speik fragrance can be investigated through its volatile constituents. In 1997, Bos and colleagues found bornyl acetate and patchouli alcohol among the constituents of oil from a sample of Valeriana celtica subsp. norica. Such analyses describe the composition of a fragrance material. They do not test sleep or calming effects in people.
Composition varies between populations. In 2000, Novak and colleagues compared underground plant parts from three populations in Austria and Italy. Even the two Austrian populations differed in several oil constituents. Relatedness to common valerian therefore establishes neither a uniform Speik extract nor a mechanism for sleep.
Published work on Valeriana celtica covers oil composition, history and use. The two chemistry papers presented here analyse plant material, not people. They provide no evidence for clinical sleep or calming effects of Speik. The EMA assesses Valeriana officinalis, a different species, for those medicinal uses.
Another question concerns the persistence of wild populations. In her work on Echter Speik, Susanne Kabusch describes use in the Nockberge and harvesting under exemption permits. The work combines literature, interviews and field observations. Its conservation findings need to be kept separate from medical questions. Regulated harvesting is not evidence of efficacy.
Evidence
| Outcome | Class | Grade | Effect | Studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical fragrance use in clothes and bathsSpeik has a documented history of fragrance use. Pliny describes scenting clothes, while Grieve later records scented baths and root exports. Identifying ancient saliunca with Valeriana celtica is a philological botanical interpretation. These sources document historical use, not a clinical effect.Ancient literature and later European trading accounts | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | IEvidence quality grade I (Insufficient). Not enough evidence to draw a conclusion. More research needed. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Traditional aromatic use | |
| Ancient attributions for stomach complaintsDioscorides and Pliny also describe medicinal uses of Celtic nard or saliunca. Pliny attributes uses against vomiting and for strengthening the stomach to the root boiled in wine. This is an ancient attribution, not a tested treatment effect or advice to take it by mouth.Ancient texts by Dioscorides and Pliny | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | IEvidence quality grade I (Insufficient). Not enough evidence to draw a conclusion. More research needed. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Historical medicinal attributions | |
| Essential oil and constituent chemistrySpecies-specific laboratory analyses describe essential oil from roots and rhizome. Bos and colleagues report bornyl acetate and patchouli alcohol in a Noric Speik sample. Novak and colleagues show differences between three populations. The outcome was oil composition, not an effect in people.Roots and rhizome of Valeriana celtica | EmergingEmerging research. Early small trials suggest an effect but await replication. | IEvidence quality grade I (Insufficient). Not enough evidence to draw a conclusion. More research needed. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Chemistry only | |
| Conservation and sustainable harvest (subspecies norica)Echter Speik is legally partially protected in Carinthia. Section 3 of the plant protection regulation prohibits removing its underground parts from their site. Documented harvesting in the Nockberge takes place under exemption permits with specified quantities. This concerns conservation and use, not a health effect.Carinthian Nockberge Biosphere Reserve, Austria | TraditionalTraditional use. Long-standing folk practice or EMA HMPC traditional-use monograph. | IEvidence quality grade I (Insufficient). Not enough evidence to draw a conclusion. More research needed. This is an evidence rating, not a product endorsement. | Conservation and harvesting under permit |
The studies that matter.
In 1997, Bos and colleagues studied essential oils from underground parts of several valerian taxa. The Valeriana celtica subsp. norica oil contained 22% bornyl acetate and 5% patchouli alcohol. The material was botanical, with no human participants. The paper describes a fragrance material and does not test a medicinal effect.
Rein Bos, Herman J. Woerdenbag, Henk Hendriks, Johannes J. C. Scheffer. Bos R, Woerdenbag HJ, Hendriks H, Scheffer JJC. Composition of the essential oils from underground parts of Valeriana officinalis L. s.l. and several closely related taxa. Flavour and Fragrance Journal 12, 359 to 370 (1997). doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1026(199709/10)12:5<359::AID-FFJ660>3.0.CO;2-GIn 2000, Novak and colleagues compared three Valeriana celtica populations from Gleinalm and Schoberriegel in Austria and Aosta in Italy. Among 17 oil compounds present above 1%, population differences were statistically significant except for four compounds. The two Austrian populations also differed. This is plant chemistry with no human participants or clinical evidence of efficacy.
Johannes Novak, Stefan Novak, Christina Bitsch, Chlodwig M. Franz. Novak J, Novak S, Bitsch C, Franz CM. Essential oil composition of underground parts of Valeriana celtica ssp. from Austria and Italy. Flavour and Fragrance Journal 15, 40 to 42 (2000). doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1026(200001/02)15:1<40::AID-FFJ863>3.0.CO;2-BIn his paper published in 1991/1992, Stirling examined the meaning of the Latin plant name saliunca using ancient, medieval and later sources. Mainly philological evidence led him to identify it with Valeriana celtica. This is historical research with no human participants. The philological argument addresses plant identity and provides no evidence of effects in people.
J. Stirling. Stirling J. Saliunca. Orvostorteneti Kozlemenyek 37 to 38, 149 to 154 (1991/1992). PMID:11639981Pliny describes saliunca in Natural History XXI.20 as a fragrance for clothes and mentions the economic value of harvesting it. In XXI.20 he excludes the plant from plaited garlands because its leaves are short. This ancient text is a historical source with no study population. It documents fragrance use at the time, not a modern medicinal effect.
Pliny the Elder, John Bostock, H. T. Riley. Pliny the Elder. Natural History, book XXI, chapters 19, 20 and 83. Bostock and Riley translation (1855). Source
Usage
Forms and preparation
Recorded fragrance use chiefly concerns the root. Pliny describes scenting clothes, and Grieve names scented baths. Use as incense during the Rauhnächte is described today by Speick. These are historical and cultural uses, not instructions for tea or a remedy to take by mouth. For current use, choose finished products with traceable sourcing. Speick states that it uses extract of the dried plant from controlled wild harvesting. Harvesting Noric Speik in the Nockberge is subject to exemption permits and specified quantities. Do not dig up the roots yourself, and follow the label of a cosmetic product. These sources do not support recommending a modern Speik preparation for the kitchen. Ancient descriptions of medicinal mixtures are historical texts, not safety assessments for a recipe. For its fragrance, choose a finished formulation with clear sourcing and use instructions. Leave the protected root in its natural habitat.
Dosage
The studies described here do not establish an internal medicinal dose for Valeriana celtica. Doses in the EMA monograph concern Valeriana officinalis and do not apply to Speik. Do not take Speik as a self-made internal remedy. Follow the label of finished cosmetics. Safety must be assessed for the finished product.
Special populations
The studies described here do not establish the safety of internal Valeriana celtica use during pregnancy or breastfeeding or in children. Avoid all internal use during pregnancy and breastfeeding and for children. For finished cosmetics, the product instructions and known fragrance allergies matter. Fragrances can cause skin irritation or contact allergy. A cautious trial on a small area of skin does not replace allergy assessment.
Safety
Drug interactions
The studies described here contain no species-specific clinical interaction data for Valeriana celtica. Missing data do not exclude interactions. Information about common valerian, Valeriana officinalis, for example in relation to sedatives or central nervous system depressants, cannot be transferred to Speik. Avoid self-made internal remedies. Follow the instructions of any finished cosmetic product.
Contraindications
The studies described here do not provide a species-specific medicinal safety assessment for Valeriana celtica. Contraindications therefore remain possible. Assessing a finished cosmetic product requires its full composition and intended use. A known allergy to Speik, related valerian materials, fragrances or essential oils is a reason to avoid relevant products. Seek professional advice before use if earlier reactions are unclear. Avoid internal use as a self-made remedy. The studies described here provide no clinical safety data or established internal medicinal dose for this species.
Side effects
Fragrances in cosmetics can cause skin irritation or allergic contact reactions. This is a general fragrance precaution, not a species-specific frequency estimate for Speik. Its intense scent can also be experienced as unpleasant. The studies described here do not allow a reliable assessment of systemic adverse effects from internal use. Stop using the product and seek advice if a skin reaction occurs.
Look-alikes
Similar plants and look-alikes
Common valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
Common valerian, Valeriana officinalis, is a separate, much taller species with pinnate leaves. It can reach about one and a half metres. The EMA valerian root monograph concerns Valeriana officinalis and specified preparations from it. Its indications for sleep and nervous tension do not apply to Speik, Valeriana celtica.
Read the entry: ValerianIndian spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi)
Indian spikenard, Nardostachys jatamansi, is a different plant. Historical nard names can refer to several species. Grieve identifies Celtic nard with Valeriana celtica. A similar trade name is therefore insufficient to identify dried roots reliably.
FAQs
Is Alpine Valerian the same as the valerian used for sleep?
No. The EMA valerian root monograph concerns Valeriana officinalis. Speik is Valeriana celtica, a different species. Its history as an aromatic does not justify transferring the sleep indication.
What part of Alpine Valerian is used and what is it used for?
The aromatic roots and rhizome are used. Pliny describes scenting clothes, and Grieve describes scenting baths. An extract is now used in Speick cosmetics. Historical uses are not a recommendation for an internal medicine.
Does the EMA valerian monograph also cover Speik?
The EMA monograph applies to Valeriana officinalis and specified preparations from its root. It does not apply to Valeriana celtica. A fragrance ingredient in cosmetics does not acquire a medicinal indication through it. Historical use alone cannot substantiate a modern health claim.
Where do the names Speik and Celtic nard come from?
The Celtic nard in historical texts is identified with Valeriana celtica. Dioscorides calls it nardos keltike and also gives the local name saliunca. Speik is the regional German name. Since several plants have been called Speik or nard, the botanical name matters when distinguishing them.
Can I collect Speik myself in the Austrian Alps?
Do not dig up wild Speik. In Carinthia, Echter Speik is listed as partially protected in Annex III of the plant protection regulation. Its underground parts must not be removed from their site. Documented commercial harvesting in the Nockberge takes place under exemption permits with specified quantities. Other provinces and protected areas have their own local rules.
Is Alpine Valerian safe?
Tolerability depends on the finished product and your known allergies. Fragrances can cause skin irritation and contact allergy. Cautiously trying a finished product on a small area of skin does not replace medical allergy assessment. Do not use undiluted essential oil. The studies described here provide no established internal medicinal dose for Speik. Avoid self-made remedies taken by mouth, including during pregnancy and breastfeeding and for children.
14 sources.
- Rein Bos, Herman J. Woerdenbag, Henk Hendriks, Johannes J. C. Scheffer. Bos R, Woerdenbag HJ, Hendriks H, Scheffer JJC. Composition of the essential oils from underground parts of Valeriana officinalis L. s.l. and several closely related taxa. Flavour and Fragrance Journal 12, 359 to 370 (1997).. 1997. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1026(199709/10)12:5<359::AID-FFJ660>3.0.CO;2-G
- Johannes Novak, Stefan Novak, Christina Bitsch, Chlodwig M. Franz. Novak J, Novak S, Bitsch C, Franz CM. Essential oil composition of underground parts of Valeriana celtica ssp. from Austria and Italy. Flavour and Fragrance Journal 15, 40 to 42 (2000).. 2000. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1026(200001/02)15:1<40::AID-FFJ863>3.0.CO;2-B
- J. Stirling. Stirling J. Saliunca. Orvostorteneti Kozlemenyek 37 to 38, 149 to 154 (1991/1992).. 1991. PMID:11639981
- Pliny the Elder, John Bostock, H. T. Riley. Pliny the Elder. Natural History, book XXI, chapters 19, 20 and 83. Bostock and Riley translation (1855).. 1855. Source
- Pedanius Dioscorides. Dioscorides. De materia medica, book I, chapter 1.8. Greek text reproduced by Pl@ntUse with modern botanical identifications.. 2026. Source
- Maud Grieve. Grieve M. A Modern Herbal, Valerian entry (1931). Celtic valerian passage.. 1931. Source
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Plants of the World Online, Valeriana celtica L. Accessed 9 October 2026.. 2026. Source
- Bundeskanzleramt der Republik Österreich. Republic of Austria. Carinthian Pflanzenartenschutzverordnung, current consolidated text, section 3 and Annex III. Accessed 9 October 2026.. 2026. Source
- Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. European Medicines Agency. European Union herbal monograph on Valeriana officinalis L., radix. EMA/HMPC/150848/2015, Corr.1 (2017).. 2017. Source
- Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety. Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety. Opinion on fragrance allergens in cosmetic products. SCCS/1459/11 (2012).. 2012. Source
- Speick Naturkosmetik. Speick Naturkosmetik. The Speick plant, the high alpine soul of our products. Accessed 9 October 2026.. 2026. Source
- Susanne Kabusch. Kabusch S. Nutzung vs. Naturschutz am Beispiel der naturgeschützten Alpenpflanze Echter Speik (Valeriana celtica subsp. norica). Masterarbeit, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (2020).. 2020. Source
- Info Flora. Info Flora. Valeriana celtica L., Flora Helvetica 2018 description and Swiss ecology. Accessed 9 October 2026.. 2026. Source
- European Commission. European Commission. Scientific and technical assessment of cosmetics. Accessed 9 October 2026.. 2026. Source
Legal notice: The depiction of historical significance and traditional use is context within our encyclopedia and not a health claim for any product, not a treatment promise, and not a substitute for medical advice. What may be stated on product labels, product pages, or in advertising is governed by the applicable legal requirements.