Angelica

     Angelica, or Archangel, is one of the many herbs that I am eager to grow.  Its stalks and leaves are greener than spearmint, but its small, clustered flowers can be white or fusia.  This plant can grow from the size of my four-year-old brother Nat in the first year to eight feet, much taller than my dad, in the second year!  It likes to grow in places like Indiana, but some varieties are only content with Florida.  Angelica likes to grow in shady areas with moist but well-draining soil.  It also likes to have elbow room of three and a half feet between it and its neighbors.  This herb seeds in its second year, but then it dies.  Its life can be prolonged if its seed and flower heads are cut back.
    
     You can harvest Angelica during its second year, and every part of the plant is edible: flowers, stalk, leaf, and roots.  I have read that Angelica is deliciously sweet.  The stalks are usually candied with sugar and water.  I would love to try that!  It can also be boiled or steamed like asparagus.

     For those who have trouble with anemia, indegestion, stomach cramps, flatulence, and bloating, this is an awesome herb.  It also helps coughs, colds, headaches, nausea, and motion sickness.  Angelica leaf tea is a good remedy for these problems.  Otherwise, it can be eaten as a part of supper.

     Warning: "Large doses first stimulate and then paralyze the central nervous system.  The tea is not recommended for those suffering from diabetes."  (The Complete Herb Book, by Jekka McVicar pg. 37)  I guess it's really true that you can have too much of a good thing!

     I think that Angelica is such a beautiful herb that I can hardly wait to name my next milk-goat after it!:)  Next week's herb is one that I recently discovered during my research.  Its secondary names include, Burn jelly plant, Snake flower, Cat's tail, Bulbinella, Ibhucu (Zulu), and Rooiwortel (Africaans).  Hint, it's African.