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Angelica sylvestris

Common name: Wild Angelica Family: Umbelliferae
Author: L. Botanical references: 17
Synonyms: Angelica montana (Brot.)
Known Hazards: All members of this genus contain furocoumarins, which increase skin sensitivity to sunlight and may cause dermatitis[238].
Range: Most of Europe, including Britain, to W. Asia and Siberia.
Habitat: Moist fields and hedgerows, open woods, marshes and fens, not usually found on acid soils[7, 13].
Edibility Rating (1-5): 3Medicinal Rating (1-5):2

Other Possible Synonyms:From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
A. silvestris[E]
Other Common Names:From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
Ait-skeiters [H], Angelica Selvatica [E], Angelika [E], Angelique De Bois [E], Engelique Des Bois [E], Gewone Engelwortel [D], Oat-shooters [H], Trumpet Keck [H], Wald Brustwurz [E], Wild Angelica [H,E,L], Wilde Engelwortel [E], Wood Angelica [H], Woodland Angelica [P],
Epithets:From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
sylvestris = of woods; sylvestris = of woods;
Systematics:From a USDA Plants Database
Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
Other Range Info: From the Ethnobotany Database
China; Europe; France; Germany; Iceland; Italy; Netherlands; Us

Physical Characteristics

Biennial growing to 1.5m. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and beetles. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Leaves; Root; Seed.

Leaves, young shoots and stems - used as an aromatic addition to salads[7], or cooked and used as a vegetable[2, 5, 8, 13, 183]. The taste is somewhat bitter[5]. The chopped leaves are a good addition to cooked acid fruits, especially rhubarb[183].
The stem and leafstalks are used in candies and sweetmeats[2, 46, 105, 183].
Seed - used as an aromatic flavouring in confections and pastries[2, 7].
Root - cooked[2].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antispasmodic; Carminative; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Expectorant; Stimulant; Stomachic; Tonic.

The root and the seeds are antispasmodic, aromatic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic, and tonic[7, 13, 21, 147, 218]. This plant is less rich in active principles than A. archangelica and so is much less used medicinally than that species[9, 244], but a decoction is sometimes used in the treatment of bronchial catarrh, coughs and dyspepsia[9]. Large doses have the effect of depressing the central nervous system[7].

Other Uses

Dye; Parasiticide.

The pulverized fruits are used to kill head parasites[46, 61].
A good yellow dye is obtained from the plant (the report does not specify which part of the plant)[4].

Cultivation details

Requires a deep moist fertile soil in dappled shade or full sun[200]. Succeeds in deep shade.
Plants are reliably perennial if they are prevented from setting seed[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe since the seed only has a short viability[200]. Seed can also be sown in the spring, though germination rates will be lower. It requires light for germination[200]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in the spring.
The seed can also be sow in situ as soon as it is ripe.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

References for Angelica montana (a possible synonym). References for Angelica silvestris (a possible synonym). References for angelica sylvestris (a possible synonym).

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[8] Ceres. Free for All. Thorsons Publishers 1977 ISBN 0-7225-0445-4
Edible wild plants in Britain. Small booklet, nothing special.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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