Geographical Origin & Distribution
Angelica archangelica, commonly known as Angelica, is native to the northern regions of Europe and parts of Asia. Its geographical origin is primarily traced to the Nordic countries and regions with cooler climates.
Historical Use
Historically, Angelica has been valued for its medicinal and spiritual properties in Europe, especially in northern regions like Scandinavia. Its uses ranged from digestive and respiratory remedies to protection against plague and evil spirits. As European settlers arrived in America, they brought Angelica with them, where it became part of the early American folk medicine tradition. Although not as commonly used today, it remains a valuable herb in herbal medicine, aromatherapy, and natural remedies.
Angelica is also known as Wild Celery, Engelwurz, or herb of the Holy Spirit.
Medical Use
The plant is valued for its medicinal properties and has been used in traditional herbal medicine for centuries. The roots are primarily used for digestive and respiratory health, even though other plant parts are equally used for medical purposes. Seeds, stems, and leaves are used for digestive purposes, and as an essential oil, it offers relaxation and respiratory relief.
Common Applications
Digestive Health: Angelica tea, tincture, or infused honey stimulates the appetite, digestion, and bile flow. It also offers relief from bloating, cramps, indigestion, and nausea.
Respiratory Support: Try a warm chest poultice or compress for coughs or respiratory congestion since Angelica helps to clear lung congestion, phlegm, and colds.
Warming & Circulatory: it improves poor circulation & sluggish blood flow and helps with cold extremities, rheumatism, and stiff joints.
Hormonal balance: Angelica supports the blood flow and may ease the symptoms of certain menstrual issues. It also helps to regulate irregular, delayed, or painful periods.
Stress: Angelica acts as an adaptogen, which supports the body in stressful situations.
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Active Substances
- Essential Oils: α-pinene, β-phellandrene, myrcene, and limonene with anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antimicrobial properties. These contribute to Angelica’s ability to help with respiratory issues and digestion.
- Coumarins: bergapten with photosensitising properties, making the skin more sensitive to sunlight. It also has anticoagulant effects, which can help improve circulation. Imperatorin, known for its antispasmodic and vasodilatory effect. Psoralen for skin treatments, and xanthotoxin with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, also used to treat skin conditions.
- Furanocoumarins: oxypeucedanin with potential antispasmodic and antifungal effects, supporting its use in treating digestive and fungal conditions.
- Organic Acids: caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid as antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties.
- Polyacetylenes: antifungal and antimicrobial properties.
- Sterols: anti-inflammatory properties.
- Flavonoids: quercetin and luteolin are well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory flavonoids.
- Angelicin: a furanocoumarin that exhibits anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects.
- Tannins: astringent properties to help tighten tissues and reduce inflammation, aid in wound healing and support digestive health by reducing diarrhoea.
Chemical Breakdown (per 100 g of dried Angelica root)
Essential Oils: 0.5-1.0%
Coumarins: 0.3-0.5%
Furanocoumarins: traces
Phenolic Acids: Caffeic Acis 0.1%–0.3 mg, Chlorogenic Acid 0.5-1.0 mg
Flavonoids: 0.1-0.5 mg
Sterols: traces
Tannins: traces
Polyacetylenes: traces
HOT
Hot remedies are natural substances or preparations that generate warmth,…
stimulate circulation, or counteract the effects of cold or damp conditions in the body. These remedies are often used in herbal medicine, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and other healing systems.
Warming: create a sensation of heat in the body.
Stimulating: often promote blood flow, energy, and digestion.
Spicy or Pungent: tend to have a sharp, intense flavour.
Applications: treat conditions like cold hands/feet, stiffness, respiratory congestion, and poor digestion.
In modern times, this might translate as thermogenic and circulatory stimulant effects. Heating remedies are used to counter the impact of cold, reducing any symptoms made worse in the cold.
BITTER
Bitters are herbs and substances known for their bitter taste, …
which stimulates digestion, detoxification, and other physiological processes. They play a foundational role in many traditional healing systems like Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and Western herbalism as a very complex group of phytochemicals that stimulate the bitter receptors in the mouth.
Taste: their distinct bitter flavour activates receptors in the mouth and digestive system.
Action: stimulating bile production, enhancing digestive enzyme secretion, improving appetite and digestion.
Tonic Effect: bitters are considered tonics for the digestive system, promoting overall balance and function.
Energetics: used to reduce heat, inflammation, or excess dampness in the body.
They were some of the most valuable remedies in ancient medicine. Many of these reputations are being supported by new research on the role of bitter receptors in the mouth and elsewhere around the body. Bitters were also seen as ‘cooling’, reducing the intensity of some fevers and inflammatory diseases.
SWEET
Sweet herbs have a naturally sweet taste due to…
their essential oils, glycosides, or other compounds. They are often used in teas, desserts, herbal medicine, and cooking to add a pleasant flavour without the need for added sugars. Some also have medicinal benefits, such as aiding digestion, calming the nervous system, or acting as natural sweeteners. Describing a remedy as sweet generally led to that remedy being used in convalescence or recovery from illness.
Taste: the sweet taste of herbs comes from various compounds like glycosides, essential oils, polysaccharides, and aromatic compounds.
Action: sweet herbs generally have a nourishing, moistening, and balancing effect on the body.
Tonic Effect: sweet tonics are commonly used in traditional medicine to support energy levels, digestion, the nervous system, and overall vitality.
Energetics: warming, harmonising, nourishing, strengthening, or moistening the body.
SHARP
Sharp medicinal plants are herbs that have a piercing, intense, and…
stimulating quality, which may generate immediate reflex responses in parts of a body, for example, increased saliva in the mouth. They often have a spicy, pungent, or acrid taste and are used to clear stagnation, stimulate circulation, promote digestion, and expel toxins. Other effects are subjective rather than confirmed by research, but there is a consistent view that they include increased digestive activity and contraction of the gallbladder.
Taste: pungent, spicy, acrid, and sometimes bitter.
Action: diaphoretic (induces sweating), carminative (relieves gas), expectorant (clears mucus), circulatory stimulant, antimicrobial.
Tonic Effect: while some tonic herbs work slowly over time, sharp tonics often have an immediate, intense action, making them useful for clearing acute blockages and revitalizing sluggish systems.
Energetics: stimulating, warming, drying, and dispersing.
AROMATIC
Aromatic herbs are fragrant plants rich in volatile oils…
that influence the nervous, digestive, and respiratory systems. Their strong scent comes from essential oils, which have calming, stimulating, antimicrobial, and digestive effects. These herbs are often used in teas, tinctures, steam inhalations, herbal baths, and essential oil blends. Many aromatics are classed as ‘carminatives’ and are used to reduce colic, bloating and agitated digestion.They also often feature in respiratory remedies for colds, chest and other airway infections. They are also classic calming inhalants and massage oils and are the basis of aromatherapy for their mental benefits.
Action: relaxing digestion & relieving bloating (carminative), calming, stimulating, clearing mucus, antimicrobial, promoting sweating to break fevers.
Energetics: primarily warming or cooling, drying, and light, influencing the nervous, digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems.
Planting & Harvesting
Preferred Location
Basic Information
Leaves
Angelica’s leaves are large, with a triangular shape and deeply divided lobes. They can grow up to 90 cm long and are bright green.
Flowers
Angelica produces large umbrella-shaped flower clusters, known as umbels, that can be up to 30 cm in diameter. The small flowers are typically pale greenish-white or yellowish in colour.
Fruit
The fruits are small, flattened, and oval-shaped, measuring about 6-8 mm in length. Each fruit contains two seeds.
Roots
The roots are thick & fleshy and can grow quite deep, making them one of the most valued parts of the plant in traditional medicine.
Growing
Angelica prefers cool, temperate climates with cool summers. It is a biennial plant, meaning it typically lives for two years. In its first year, it primarily produces leaves, and in its second year, it flowers and dies after setting seeds. The plant thrives in moist, well-drained soils rich in organic matter. Sow the seeds in autumn outdoors to make sure the seeds are exposed to cold, moist conditions (stratification).
Harvest
It is best to harvest Angelica during its second year of the life cycle when the flowers start to bloom. Wait for a sunny and dry day before cutting or pulling the plant. To harvest the seeds, wait until the flower heads turn brown. Cut the flower heads and leave to dry before collecting the seeds.
Please note if you harvest wild Angelica – poisonous hemlock and water drop-wort hemlock look quite similar to Angelica. Hemlock is usually fatal if taken. Make sure you know the difference, or stick to planting your own.