Scientific name: Angelica archangelica L.

Common name: archangel angelica, herb of angels.

English name: angelica, garden angelica, holy ghost.

Parts used: seeds, stems, root, fruits and rhizome.

Components: essential oil, flavonoids, coumarins and tannins.

An herbaceous plant up to 1.5 m high, with streaked and branchy stems, large leaves and white-greenish flowers that gather in large and showy umbrellas. Spontaneous throughout northern Europe, in Italy it is a cultivated plant.

Properties: promotes digestive function, regular gastrointestinal motility and elimination of gases, contributes to the drainage of body fluids. The scent helps counteract stress and insomnia, while calming the nervous system.

The bitter-tonic and simultaneously sedative action make this plant useful in the treatment of certain disorders of the gastro-intestinal system. The tonic properties aids the appetite and facilitates digestion.

As an antispasmodic it helps soothe chronic stomach pain, the intestines and biliary tract; the tonic properties are useful for improving the general mood and muscle tone, so much so that the plant can be considered a true adaptogen.

The root is often used as an appetite stimulant in the treatment of eating disorders.

The essential oil is a stimulant (dyspepsia) and a valid antispasmodic (dysmenorrhea).

Curiosity: in 1500 it was cultivated in monasteries and for this reason it took the name of Erba degli Angeli or Angelica.  Parts of the leaf, such as the stems and petioles, are seasoned and used in pastry. Angelica is also eaten as a cooked vegetable in countries like Greenland, Sweden and Finland.

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