Herb: Kneeling Angelica


Latin name: Angelica genuflexa


Family: Umbelliferae



Medicinal use of Kneeling Angelica:

The raw root, or a decoction made from it, has been used as a purgative. A compound decoction of the root has been used to treat headaches and weak eyes.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
100 cm
(3 1/4 foot)

Habitat of the herb:

Moist places.

Edible parts of Kneeling Angelica:

Young leaves - cooked. Used as a flavouring. Young stems - peeled and eaten raw. Seed - used as a flavouring.

Other uses of the herb:

The hollow stems have been used to make drinking straws, whistles and as breathing stems to allow people to remain underwater. The have also been used as containers to collect pitch from Picea sitchensis. The leaves were used as a deodorant by native North Americans. The leaves were chewed and the juice rubbed onto the body to mask the human smell.

Propagation of Kneeling Angelica:

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe since the seed only has a short viability. Seed can also be sown in the spring, though germination rates will be lower. It requires light for germination. 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.

Cultivation of the herb:

Moist places.

Known hazards of Angelica genuflexa:

All members of this genus contain furocoumarins, which increase skin sensitivity to sunlight and may cause dermatitis.

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.