UMBELLIFERAE 



PARSLEY FAMILY 



PURPLE-STEMMED ANGELICA 



Angelica atropurpurea L. 



Candied sweetmeats called Angelica are made from 

 young stems of this giant Parsley and command a high 

 price. This is particularly true of the confectionery im- 

 ported from England, 

 whereas it might easily 

 be made from the same 

 plant growing here. 



This plant grows in marshy 

 spots from Newfoundland to 

 Minnesota, Delaware and 

 Iowa. The purple to green 

 stems are smooth, commonly 

 8-9 feet high, and i yi inches 

 in diameter. They bear large 

 twice-ternate leaves, the lower 

 of which are sometimes 2 feet 

 across. The leaflets are oval or 

 oblong and finely toothed. 



The greenish white flowers 

 bloom in June and July. The 

 umbels are 2-4 inches broad 

 and contain 7-16 rays \-i}4 

 inches long. The secondary 

 umbels are small and dense, 



bearing the small flowers on pedicels one-half inch long. The 

 petal tips are incurved. The seeds are one-quarter inch long, 

 ovate and somewhat flattened. 



An ornamental relative is the Hairy Angelica, Angelica villosa 

 (Walt.) BSP. It is much smaller and in Illinois is found only in the 

 Ozark extension. It is a perennial 2-6 feet high, with the upper stem 

 and umbels densely covered with grayish hairs. The lower leaves 

 are ternate or twice ternate and the pinnately arranged segments 

 are thick, oval and finely toothed. The upper leaves are reduced 

 to sheathing petioles. The umbels are 2-4 inches broad, compound 

 and 7-30-rayed. The rays are i inch long and the pedicels very 

 short; thus the inflorescence is dense and, because ot the white 

 flowers, conspicuous. 



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