Angelica

angelica the name for a group of tall umbelliferous plants with thick stems, in the genus Angelica. Of the many species, growing in most temperate regions of the world, the most famous and useful, growing in Europe, is Angelica archangelica. It has a distinctive scent, often described as musky.

Parkinson (1629) observed that all Christian nations call this plant by names signifying its angelic associations, and ‘likewise in their appellations hereof follow the Latine name as near as their Dialect will permit’. The basis for the angelic associations is not clear, although it may be connected with the plant’s reputation as an antidote to poisons; and the archangelic ones might be due to the fact that the flower would be in bloom on 8 May (old calendar), the day of St Michael the Archangel.