I saw this plant in the greenhouse early in the spring and couldn’t resist. The plant immediately reminded me of the green crystalized or candied Angelica used to decorate cakes years ago. The candied angelica seems to have fallen out of favour now but is still available. I checked online but have not looked in the cake decorating aisle at the supermarket to see if it is still available there. I loved this confection as a child but I also love the umbel family of plants in the garden for their architectural qualities. I have many umbels but none so tall as this plant’s potential.

For fun I decided to buy the plant and see how it fared. There are over sixty species of Angelica . Angelica archangelica is the type used mostly in Europe for crystallizing. It is even a specialty crop in France. This purple stemmed and veined Angelica gigas or Purple Angelica does grow wild in eastern Canada but is considered more as an ornamental garden plant in the west. I am taking a gamble with it, as it is both a biennial and more tender than zone three. This is obviously the plant’s second year of growth as it has flowered and the chocolate coloured clusters are stunning. I will not know until spring if it will survive as a short lived perennial which some do, or whether it will seed itself with some of its many seeds. I repotted it in a large pot in the spring as I really struggled to find a place in the garden where it could reach its full potential . I may bring it it into the green house for winter or bury the pot but I certainly will collect seeds. The plant is now over six feet tall and makes a dynamic statement over the patio. I have enjoyed watching it grow and produce its beautiful flowers which emerge like the curved necks of swans, out of a protective cover.

This species of Angelica has been used medicinally for centuries. Root extracts are also used for flavouring liqueurs and as a spice for jams and chutneys. The stem, as with Angelica archangelica, can also be candied.

There are so many plants that look similar to this and one of the first questions asked is “How do you distinguish it from Poison Hemlock.” If encountering a plant like this in the wild state, the surest way is to use a plant identifying app if you have one but generally the leaves of Poison Hemlock are much more finely divided, more like parsley and the flower heads are flatter. Poison Hemlock has a musty smell whereas Angelica has more pleasant fragrance. There are many umbel type plants that have a similar appearance but both Poison Hemlock and Angelica grow much taller, up to eight feet and sturdier than smaller umbels such as Queen Anne’s Lace Ammi majus, the carrot family, Daucus or Dill Anethum graveolens. Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum is a very toxic plant and especially so in its early growth stages. Angelica is not.