Angelica: General Information
Angelica (Angelica archangelica) is a giant member of the parsley family, growing to over 6 ft (2m) high, with thick, hollow stems, large bright green leaves, white flowers and a strong sweet scent. It is a biennial, native to northern Europe, Russia, Iceland and Greenland, thriving in a cool damp climate and a partially shaded location. As a garden plant, angelica is statuesque. It produces enormous, yellow-tinged, flowers in the second summer. It then dies down, but usually self-seeds near the original plant. Plant angelica at the back of an herb garden or border, or use it as a sculptural focus plant beside a building, at the end of a vista, or in the center of a formal herb garden. Angelica takes its name from the Archangel Michael, partly because it was thought to always bloom on May 8th, the day when he supposedly appeared in a monk's vision during the Middle Ages to announce that the herb would cure the black plague. Old references to the herb suggest it was taken for stomach disorders and that all the parts of the plant, including the roots, were used.
© 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc.
|
Angelica
