Angelica

Parts Usually Used

Roots, leaves, seeds, stems

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Angelica can grow 5 to 8 feet tall, needs rich, moist, well-drained soil in partial shade. The seeds require light for germination, do not cover with soil if planning to establish plants. The plant will produce seeds only once, usually in its second or third year. If you cut the flowers back before they seed each summer, thus extending it’s life, the plant will continue to grow for years to come.

Angelica is a biennial producing foliage the first year and stems and flowers the second. Flowers time is June to August. It dies back in the winter (no frost protection is necessary). Collect ripe seed in late summer and sow in early autumn. The seeds are fairly large and coated with a straw-like substance. Seeds turn from green to yellow when they are ready to be harvested. Not bothered by weeds, grows well in wild surrounded by other plants.

Pruning is not necessary, but remove lower leaves if they wither. The grooved, hollow stem is occasionally purplish at the top of the plant. The leaves have enlarged convex sheaths at the base of the leafstalks and have 2 to 3 pinnate parts. They become smaller toward the top of the plant and are less clefted. The upper part of this herb is branchy. At the branch ends grow the inflorescences, 20- 40- radiate double umbels with bristly small leaves.

The tiny greenish-white flowers smell of honey. Some angelica plants flower white blossoms or more rarely, pale-purple flowers. Oval fruits are ridged with thin lateral wings. A. gigas (Korean angelica) is an exquisite ornamental introduced to the United States in the early 1980’s. All parts are a rich purple, including the deep-toned flowers. It’s an excellent contrast for finely textured tall grasses and combines well with colorful perennials.

Because it resembles celery in odor and appearance, angelica sometimes is known as wild celery. Seeds are available through catalogs, but young plants are more successfully cultivated. After the second year, propagate with offshoots and root cuttings. Roots can also be harvested in early fall of the second year. Full sun or partial shade; Zones 4-9. Other varieties: Du Huo (A. pubescens); Dang gui (A.

sinensis); Angelica (A. breweri); Masterwort (A. atropurpurea) also called angelica.

Where Found

Botanists place Angelica archangelica in the carrot family (Apiaceae-Umbelliferae). Native to northern Europe, it is more common in Scandinavia, Greenland, and Iceland than on the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic, where it is relatively scarce. It grows in cool, damp meadows, but also in the valleys of low mountain ranges. It was unknown to the Greeks and Romans. Angelica atropurpurea (known as purplestem angelica), a North American native, has similar properties and uses.

Medicinal Properties

Stimulates appetite, carminative, expectorant, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, diuretic

Biochemical Information

Essential oil with phellandrene, angelica acid, coumarin compounds, bitter principle and tannins

Legends, Myths and Stories

With blossoms scheduled to appear annually on the 8th of May, the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, angelica is said to possess mystical powers against disease and evil. One reference claims this herb was named after the Archangel Raphael, who according to a 10th century French legend, revealed the secrets of this herb to a monk for use during a plague epidemic. In old-world Latvia, peasants would march into town with armloads off the fragrant herb and suddenly burst into song in languages that no one, not even the singers, understood.

Like a surprising number of plants, angelica was unknown to the ancients. Although found in the northern and temperate regions of Europe and eastward all the way to the Himalayas, it does not seem to have attracted attention until the 15th century and first appeared in European herbals in the early 1500’s. Its name reflects the legend that an angel revealed its special virtues to a monk during a time of plague.

Angelica wasn’t believed to cure the plague but protect against it; a piece of root was held in the mouth as an antiseptic. In Germany, it was known as the root of the holy ghost and was believed to eliminate the effects of intoxication and also to render witchcraft and the evil eye harmless. ” The plant was also given symbolic qualities: angelica stands for magic and poetic inspiration.

Uses

Historically, herbalists employed an infusion of dried angelica root for coughs, colds, flatulence, and intestinal cramps, as well as to stimulate the kidneys and address urinary stoppage. It was traditionally administered as a blood tonic, for sluggish liver and spleen conditions, and for suppressed menstruation or menstrual cramps. Folk traditions also utilized the plant for complaints such as asthma, bronchitis, pleurisy, anemia, fever, colic, dyspepsia, heartburn, lack of appetite, gout, rheumatism, sciatica, and heart ailments.

Externally, washes and teas made from angelica were applied to ulcers, skin lice, itching, swelling, neuralgia, and rheumatic areas, while infusions of the leaves and chopped stems were used as a gargle for sore throats. It was also believed that chewing the root alleviated hangovers and cultivated a distaste for alcoholic beverages. Culinarily, the raw stalks were consumed fresh or cooked as a seasoning for fish, and they were regarded as a delicacy in Lapland.

Candied stems were long utilized in confectionery and for decorating cakes and puddings, while syrups were prepared as dessert toppings. In Norway, the roots were traditionally baked into bread. Fresh or dried leaves were infused into a beverage compared to China tea. Additionally, angelica was used to flavor liqueurs and reduce the need for sugar in tart dishes, while the essential oil derived from the roots and fruits was incorporated into perfumes, confectionery, Asian traditional medicine, and yellow dye production.

How Sold

Capsules

Bibliography

, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) Old Ways Rediscovered , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, published from 1954, print 1988 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A.

, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 Indian Uses of Native Plants , by Edith Van Allen Murphey, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1958, print 1990 The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England.

(Out of print) An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living , by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co. (1988). , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Special Sale Catalog, 1996 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.

Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974 Country Home Book of Herbs , Meredith Books, Editorial Dept. RW240, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023, copyright 1994 The Healing Plants , by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. , Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992