Many are the virtues of the storied herb angelica.  So many, in fact, that it could justly be called the herb of the angels.

Angelica allegedly blooms every year on May 8, the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, and on that day especially, it has magical powers of healing and protection for all those who touch it.

Its history is rooted in prehistoric times and even the passage of centuries cannot erase from the minds of Christians the associations between angelica and pagan beliefs.  The pagans held it in high regard as an infallible guard against the spells and enchantments of witches and evil spirits.  In fact, planting angelica in the garden was proof during the infamous witch hunts that a woman was not practicing witchcraft.  Pagan parents placed necklaces of angelica leaves around their children's necks to protect them from harm.

It is alleged that in 1665, the year of the great plague, a monk met an angel in his dreams.  The angel related to him that angelica could cure the plague.  Quite appropriately, angelica water came to be an ingredient in an official remedy published by the College of Physicians in London and was called "the King's Majesty's Excellent rEcipe for the Plague."  It consisted of nutmeg, treache, and angelica water, beaten together and heated over a fire.  Sufferers were instructed to drink this twice daily.

Angelica was used for rabies, colic, coughs, pleurisy and other lung diseases, and to induce urination.  It was made into a syrup for digestion and angelica juice was even dropped into ears for earaches.

Many herbals support the antiquity of angelica's lore.  They tell of an ancient custom in the lake district of what was once Latvia in which country peasants in an annual procession carry armfuls of angelica stems to sell in the towns.  They chant a chorus with words so old that nobody knows their meaning.  This pre-Christian ritual, still carried out today, is an early-summer custom passed down from generation to generation.

The Indians in the Rocky Mountains made decoctions and teas from angelica roots for tonics to build up their strength after illness, to induce vomiting, and to cure consumption and other respiratory ailments.  Today, angelica is still used for bronchial colds.

Aside from Pagan and Christian traditions, there's one very improtant reason why this celebrated herb remains popular today--its sweet and hardy licorice flavor.  The stems can be steamed and eaten like asparagus, candied for confection, or used fresh with rhubarb in compote or jam.  The leaves make a fine tea.  Add  the fresh leaves to green salads, soups and fruit dishes or use as a garnish.  the dried, ground root adds flavor to yeast or quick breads, cakes, muffins and cookies.  Use the dandied stems to decorate desserts.  It's even common in Iceland to eat the roots raw with butter.

Use the aromatic fragrance of angelica to freshen a musty room or closet.  Burn the seeds or pieces of the dried root over a low flame until the herb releases its fragrance.  Dried leaves may also be added to potpourris, herb pillows and bath water.  The oil is a popular addition to commerical perfumes, creams, soaps, ointments, oils, and shampoos.  The Arkansas Indians mixed the root with tobacco for aroma and flavoring.

Because of its size, angelica is not generally used for ornamental planting.  It is an unusually tall herb, often towering as high as 8 feet, so it is best placed in the background.  It resembles celery, blooming in June and July with tiny white or greenish flowers in globe-shaped compound umbels two to six inches across, with honey-like fragrances.  Leaves are pinnate and coarsely toothed.

For best results, propagate by seed, pressing the seeds gently down into rich, moist soil, but do not cover them.  They need light to germinate.  They may be sown in a seedbed, then transplanted the following year to a permanent site.  Allow 3 feet between plants in the garden and they will fill in the space. Keep in mind that the seeds are viable for only about six months or up to a year if refrigerated.

Angelica may be listed as either a biennial or a perennial herb, although it is strictly neither.  It dies after flowering, producing one crop of seeds.  A plant often takes more than two years to achieve maturity, and its cycle is easily disrupted by cutting the flower stalks every year before the seeds form.  Roots should be gathered in the fall of the first year; stems and leavbes in the spring of the second year; and seeds when they are ripe and yellow.

Try adding a small amount of peeled, chopped, fresh angelica stems to rhubarb while coooking, or in the company of onions to roast pork.  Add a bouquet garnish of fresh or dried angelica leaf and bay leaf to the water when simmering pumpkin, squash or sweet potato.

Any way one wishes to use Angelica, it is an herb fit for the angels.