Fedia is a small genus of annual herbaceous plants in the family Caprifoliaceae (order Dipsacales), formerly placed in the now-defunct family Valerianaceae. The genus is closely related to Valeriana, Valerianella, and Centranthus, and modern molecular studies have found Valerianella to be paraphyletic with respect to Fedia; as a result, some authorities (including Plants of the World Online) now treat Fedia as synonymous with Valeriana, though GBIF continues to recognize it as a distinct accepted genus.
The genus was established by Joseph Gaertner in 1790. Its most familiar representative, Fedia cornucopiae — commonly known as African valerian or horn of plenty — is a low-growing annual native to the western Mediterranean region, particularly the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. Like other members of the former Valerianaceae, plants in this group are typically soft-stemmed and herbaceous, and the foliage can carry a somewhat pungent odor characteristic of the broader valerian alliance.
Etymology
The genus name Fedia was established by Gaertner (1790); it had also been used earlier by Adanson (1763). The genus was historically placed in the family Valerianaceae, whose name derives from the Roman emperor Publius Licinius Valerianus, after whom Linnaeus named Valeriana. The specific epithet cornucopiae (horn of plenty) refers to the funnel-shaped, branching inflorescence of the main species.
Distribution
Fedia is native to the western Mediterranean basin, with Fedia cornucopiae documented from the Iberian Peninsula (including Portugal and Spain) and North Africa. The genus has not been recorded as native to Australia. Photographic records show populations in coastal Portugal (Alvor/Algarve region).
Taxonomy Notes
Fedia was originally circumscribed within the family Valerianaceae, a group now merged into Caprifoliaceae. Molecular phylogenetic studies demonstrated that Valerianella is paraphyletic with respect to Fedia, and that Valeriana is paraphyletic with respect to Centranthus and Valerianella. Some contemporary treatments (Plants of the World Online as of July 2024) therefore subsume Fedia into Valeriana, while GBIF retains it as a distinct accepted genus. The authorship of the genus is attributed to Gaertner (1790), with an earlier homonym by Adanson (1763) also recorded in IPNI. Fedia cornucopiae carries the authorship (L.) Gaertn., indicating Linnaeus originally described the species before Gaertner transferred it.
