Angelica officinalis
Archangelica officinalis
A large two-year herbaceous plant. Distributed in the European part of Russia and Western Siberia. It grows on damp places, along rivers, on the outskirts of marshes and lakes, it is much in damp forests and thickets of bushes, along the slopes of mountains.
Description: rhizome thick, wrinkled with large subordinate roots. Stalk straight, thick with a bluish coating up to 2.5 m in height. Radical leaves large, d l innocherian, twice- or triladiate-feathery, triangular. Flowers are small, greenish, in large globular umbrellas up to 17 cm in diameter, have a honey smell. Fruits are round-elliptical, up to 1 cm. Blooms in June-July, fruits ripen in August-September.
Composition: rhizomes with roots contain essential oil, various furocoumarins, organic acids, tannins and
resins.
Cultivation: likes sunny, as well as semi-dark areas, nutritious, heavy soils, sufficient humidity;requires a large plot for 2 years( 60 x 50 cm).Sowing in late summer at a distance of 50 cm. Before and after planting, it is fertilized with compost.
Collection: collect the roots of angelica, excavated in autumn or spring, the rhizomes are washed and cut across. It can be dried in any way, but not at high temperature, so that the essential oils do not evaporate. Store dried angelica in a glass bowl.
Medicinal properties: increases the secretion of bile, the secretion of the glands of the stomach and intestines with a simultaneous increase in peristalsis. It also has anti-bodily, diuretic, diaphoretic and expectorant properties. The plant has a tonic effect on the cardiovascular and central nervous system.
Powders, infusion and decoction of rhizomes with roots are used in folk medicine to arouse appetite and improve digestion, with the accumulation of gases in the intestines, diarrhea, dropsy, inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract, as well as nervous exhaustion, insomnia and convulsions.
Application: from the roots of Angelica in liquor and vodka production, liqueurs and tinctures are made, lovers from its green shoots cook jam, prepare confectionery. Leaves and their cuttings are used as spices in soups, sauces, salads. In medicine, alcoholic tincture is used for rubbing with rheumatic and gouty joint pains, with radiculitis and muscle pain.
With prolonged use of Angelica ordinary it is not recommended to take long sunbaths because of the photosensitivity of the substances contained in it.