The angelicas, also commonly but loosely called wildparsnips, are perennial 

 herbs of the carrot family. Lyall angelica, named after Dr. David Lyall, who 

 discovered the species while on the International Boundary Survey (1858 to 

 1860) between the United States and Canada, is probably the most widely 

 distributed of the 19 species of Angelica native to the West. 



Lyall angelica grows in the mountains from British Columbia to northern 

 California, Utah, and western Montana. It is most frequently associated with 

 sedges, willows, alders, aspen, bluebells, cow-parsnip, false-hellebore, and other 

 moisture-loving plants at elevations varying from 1,500 to 8,500 feet. Its 

 favorite habitats are moist, fertile lands, such as mountain meadows, canyon 

 bottoms, and stream banks, moist shady woodlands, and about springs and 

 seeps. It is seldom or never found growing in dry situations. 



Lyall angelica is an erect plant, 2. to 5 feet tall, the stems of which are 

 unusually thick, hollow, and practically free from hair. The sturdy taproot 

 is fleshy in the smaller plants, but tends to become woody and hollow with 

 age, frequently then showing horizontal partitions, which often cause it to 

 be mistaken for the more commonly chambered root of waterhemlock. When 

 bruised, angelica roots give off a strong aromatic odor, pleasant to most people. 



Like most of the other angelicas, this species is a prized forage plant, highly 

 palatable to sheep, moderately so or good for cattle, and is eaten readily by 

 deer and elk. It does not ordinarily occur in dense stands or make up much 

 of the plant cover, but in many localities it occurs in fair to moderate abundance 

 and furnishes considerable forage. The individual plants, moreover, are large 

 and produce an abundance of tender leafage and edible stems which generally 

 remain green throughout the summer grazing season. All portions of the plants 

 above ground are grazed. The large taproot not only anchors the plant in 

 the ground, but serves so well as a storehouse for food material that the 

 species is very resistant to overgrazing and trampling, unless long continued. 

 As a rule the flowers are borne in July and August and the seeds are ripened 

 from the middle of August to early October. 



Angelicas are often mistaken for the extremely poisonous waterhemlocks 

 (Cicuta spp.), and it is important that the range manager should be able to 

 distinguish between these plants. The outstanding differences are as follows: 

 Cicuta grows with its feet, in the water, usually in much wetter places than 

 Angelica,. The leaves of the two are similar, but in general Angelica, leaves 

 tend to be larger and are more compound, the leaflets usually more numerous. 

 These leaflets are oval, with irregularly toothed edges, as compared to the 

 narrow leaflets with evenly toothed (serrate) edges of waterhemlock. Water- 

 hemlocks are always wholly free from hairs, whereas angelicas, even when 

 smooth, often show some hairs, especially in the tops (inflorescence). Water- 

 hemlocks have small bracts (involucels) subtending the secondary flower 

 clusters (umbellets) ; these are always inconspicuous and frequently quite 

 absent in Angelica. The fruit or "seeds" are very different; Angelicas have 

 flattened, winged seeds one-eighth to one-fourth, of an inch long. Waterhem- 

 lock seeds are round or egg-shaped, about three-sixteenths of an inch long or 

 smaller, and ribbed with, numerous! equal ribs. In the past the presence of 

 transverse partitions in the rootstock has been considered by many to be an 

 infallible means of differentiating waterhemlock from angelicas and other 

 harmless plants of similar growth. This, however, is a fallacy. While such 

 partitions are, it is true, so frequently present as to be characteristic of water- 

 hemlocks, they are by no means unknown in angelicas and certain other umbel- 

 lifers as well. Waterhemlock roots have a disagreeable, musty odor in con- 

 trast to the pleasant aroma of the angelicas. The flowers of waterhemlocks 

 usually have prominent sepals or calyx teeth, while the angelicas either have 

 no calyx teeth or very small ones. For a further description, with illustrations, 

 of features distinguishing angelicas and waterhemlocks see the notes on the 

 genus Cicuta, (W52). 



The angelicas reproduce largely from seed, of which they can be prolific pro- 

 ducers. However, some of the species are able to propagate vegetatively from 

 rootstocks or underground stems (rhizomes), which, when broken away from 

 the parent plant, may give rise to new individuals. 



The angelicas have long been noted for their medicinal properties. The 

 Indians use the roots as remedies and also as good luck charms. 



Angelica archangelica, a European species, is a source of several valuable 

 drugs and an oil (Angelica oil) used in certain French liqueurs. 



