Angelica officinalis( Arcbangelica officinalis)

A large two-year herbaceous plant. Distributed in the European part of Russia and Western Siberia. It grows on damp places, along rivers, on the outskirts of marshes and lakes, it is much in damp forests and thickets of bushes, along the slopes of mountains.

Description

Rhizome thick, wrinkled with large subordinate roots. Stalk is straight, thick with a bluish coating up to 2.5 m in height. The basal leaves are large, long-petioled, twice or tri-tristery, triangular. Flowers are small, greenish, in large globular umbrellas up to 17 cm in diameter, have a honey smell. Fruits are round-elliptical, up to 1 cm. Blossoms in June-July, fruits ripen in August-September.

Composition

Rhizomes with roots contain essential oil, various furocoumarins, organic acids, tannins and resins.

Cultivation

Likes sunny, as well as semi-dark areas, nutritious, heavy soils, sufficient humidity;requires a large plot for 2 years( 60 x 50 cm).Sowing in late summer at a distance of 50 cm. Before and after planting, it is fertilized with compost.

Collect

Collect the roots of Diagel, excavated in autumn or spring, the rhizomes are washed and cut across. You can dry them in any way, but not at high temperature, so as not to evaporate essential oils. Store dried angelica in a glass bowl.

Medicinal properties of

Increases the secretion of bile, the secretion of the glands of the stomach and intestines with a simultaneous increase in peristalsis. It also has anti-bodily, diuretic, diaphoretic and expectorant properties. The plant has a tonic effect on the cardiovascular and central nervous system. Powders, infusion and decoction of rhizomes with roots are used in folk medicine to arouse appetite and improve digestion, with the accumulation of gases in the intestines, diarrhea, dropsy, inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract, as well as nervous exhaustion, insomnia and convulsions.

Application of

From the roots of Angelica in liquor and vodka production, liqueurs and tinctures are made, lovers of its green shoots cook jam, prepare confectionery. Leaves and their cuttings are used as spices in soups, sauces, salads. In medicine, alcoholic tincture is used for rubbing with rheumatic and gouty joint pains, with radiculitis and muscle pain. With prolonged use of Angelica ordinary it is not recommended to take long sunbaths because of the photosensitivity of the substances contained in it.