0081 



ANGELICA TREE 



Family: ARALIACEAE 



Reproductive system: PENTANDRY, PENTAGYNY. 



The angelica tree [Translator's note: also devil's walking stick, Hercules' club], 

 Aralia spinosa, Linn., is a tree four or five meters high. The trunk is straight and thick, 

 reddish brown at the top, and armed with many short thorns. The leaves at the top of the 

 trunk are large, several-fold compound, imparipinnate, with dentate and pointed oval 

 leaflets. The numerous flowers are very small, white, and clustered in panicles at the tips 

 of the branches. The calyx adheres to the ovary and is edged with five points. The corolla 

 has five petals, and there are five stamens. The ovary is crowned with five styles, and 

 turns into a berry with five compartments. It's reddish brown when ripe. 



FLOWERS: August and September. 



RANGE: North America. 



NOMENCLATURE. In 1704 this tree was sent from Quebec to Fagon, the chief 

 physician to Louis XIV, under the name aralia* which suggested a Canadian origin 

 [Translator's note: aralia was the name given to the tree by the French in Canada]. It's 

 commonly called Vangeliqae epineuse, Vangeliqae sauvage [Translator's note: thorny 

 angelica, wild angelica]. German, der stachlichte angelik baum. Dutch, gedoornde 

 aralia. English, the thorny aralia. 



USES. Its foliage and abundant flower panicles add variety to large gardens. It's 

 claimed that American natives take infusions of it for the pangs of rheumatism and to 



cure dropsy. 



CULTIVATION. In the north of France, the tree is vulnerable. It's liable to 

 succumb during harsh winters, so it should be protected from north winds and its base 

 covered with straw. If it dies, the stock should not be pulled up because it will grow 

 shoots again the following spring. It does well in winter in central and southern France. 

 It's propagated by root suckers and by sowing seeds in manure beds in springtime. The 

 berries are polyspermous; 



