Hairy valerian is a forb/herb with unisexual whitish-green flowers with 5 petals, and 3 stamens on the male flowers and three-lobed stigma on the female flowers. Some plants may be bisexual with perfect flowers. Perfect and male flowers are 2.5-3.5mm wide, female flowers are up to 1mm wide. The corolla tube on all flowers is 3-4mm long. Flowers form an elongate panicle with many lateral branches. Fruits are ovate to ovate-oblong achenes 2-4.5mm long and 1.5-3mm wide, with short hairs. Its leaves are thick, parallelled-veined, and densely ciliate. Basal leaves are 10-30cm long with short, winged petioles, are linear-oblanceolate and entire, rarely having 1-2 basal divisions. Cauline leaves are smaller and pinnately divided, attached in opposite pairs from a broad, flat rachis.
It can be distinguished from other Valerian species in Wisconsin by its large, thick taproot with a short caudex, and heavily ciliated cauline leaves. A different variety of the same species, Valeriana edulis ssp edulis, is found in the Western parts of the country.
