Botanical atlas

American Angelica (Purplestem Angelica)

Angelica atropurpurea

Purplestem angelica was carried in the medicine bags of many Native American nations, including the Iroquois and Meskwaki, who dug its stout root for teas and tonics used against colds, coughs, and sluggish digestion. Some communities also chewed the root or burned it as a protective smoke, believing it warded off illness and bad influences. When European settlers arrived and found their familiar Angelica archangelica absent, they turned to this native cousin, candying its stalks and steeping its root much the same way herbalists across the Atlantic had for centuries. Its old-world name is said to honor the Archangel Michael, whose feast day fell near the plant's traditional blooming time, and settlers long regarded it as a guardian herb kept near the hearth.

Safety.

Angelica atropurpurea belongs to the carrot family, which includes deadly look-alikes such as water hemlock and poison hemlock, so never harvest it from the wild without expert identification, since misidentification has caused fatal poisonings. Its sap and fresh leaves can cause photosensitivity in sunlight, and it has traditionally been avoided in pregnancy and by people taking blood thinners.