Plants with a healing effect >>>> What does Angelica medicinal look like (useful and dangerous)

What does Angelica medicinal look like (useful and dangerous).

The Angelica plant has a very epic history, and according to it it got its name "Angelica" (botanical name "Angelica archangelica L.") in honor of the times when, according to legend, an angel descended to the earth during the plague epidemic and brought this plant into the life of people, which was supposed to heal a serious illness. The name "Medicinal" and the list of ailments for which Angelica helps are firmly entrenched for Angelica.

Angelica has been considered a pharmaceutical plant since ancient times. Europeans and Asians cultivated the plant as a source of substances that help neutralize toxins in the body and remove them in infectious diseases, which are always accompanied by toxic lesions of vital organs and systems of the body. For these medicinal purposes, the aerial part of the plant is used: leaves, leaf stalks, stems, flowers and seeds, from which infusions are prepared. It is useful to drink such infusions during acute respiratory infections, bacterial, fungal and viral lesions of the digestive tract, as well as in case of respiratory diseases of the respiratory tract.

Angelica is a good prophylactic agent for removing toxic substances that have caused food poisoning, or toxins that have entered the body due to harmful working or living conditions. Angelica owes these toxin elimination properties to substances that have anti-inflammatory, astringent, diuretic and diaphoretic effects. It is these paths that the body uses to evacuate toxic substances from the body.

Angelica fresh greens have bactericidal properties and mimics the action of some bitterness, which is used as an anthelmintic and as a means of preventing eating disorders caused by harmful intestinal microflora. Angelica is useful for dyspeptic disorders of the intestines (diarrhea, flatulence).

The underground part of the Angelica plant has even more advantages and benefits than its greenery and flowers. The roots of Angelica Medicinal contain substances that have an antispasmodic effect on the smooth muscles of organs - it relaxes the walls of blood vessels, as well as the walls of the ducts and the organs themselves formed by smooth muscles. And at the same time Angelica Medicinal has sedative properties that calm the nervous system (by analogy with the action of Valerian roots) - it is used for nervous disorders, stress, general fatigue. Angelica root has anti-inflammatory substances and is traditionally used to treat rheumatic diseases and inflammatory diseases of the digestive system. Angelica root tinctures are useful for violations of enzymatic activity, in particular with congestion in the ducts of the liver and pancreatic ducts.

The roots of the plant are harvested at different periods of its life. Since the plant has a two-year full cycle of vegetation and fruiting (flowers, fruits and seeds are formed in the second year of life), the roots of the plant are dug out either after a year of life in October - early November, or the next year in very early spring, when the land becomes suitable for digging.

The Angelica plant has a very pleasant pronounced aroma and taste, for this reason it is often used as a flavoring additive for medicinal products. But not everyone knows what Angelica Medicinal looks like, and its brother Angelica Forest - (botanical name "Angelica silvestris L."), grows in the same places as Angelica Medicinal (Angelica Pharmacy) and has an almost indistinguishable appearance. Plants are distinguished by the shape of the stem (in the dosage form of Angelica the stem is round in cross-section, and in Angelica silvestris it is ribbed), the inflorescences of Angelica Medicinal have a greenish appearance, while in Angelica silvestris they are white, and the roots of Angelica silvestris do not have either a pleasant aroma or a pleasant taste and not used as a medicine or for cooking. They distinguish one plant from another when collecting for medicinal and food needs by the smell of roots - the rest of the external differences can only be recognized by an experienced herbalist or a person with deep botanical knowledge.

You should also know that the fresh juice of the stems and petioles of the Angelica plant is very active (so active that it can cauterize delicate skin and mucous membranes) and can very significantly injure any skin and mucous membranes. For this reason, only young greens are eaten raw and used for medicinal purposes, and in other cases they are scalded or boiled, or cut and soaked in water, or dried and only then taken orally or used externally.

Angelica Medicinal is a relative of Celery and looks like it in appearance, but unlike Celery it has a higher growth - starting from a meter and up to two meters, depending on what conditions for growing Angelica are arranged. To grow Angelica Medicinal at home, either a small reservoir is needed, since the plant loves swampy soils and the coastal zone of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, or a soil that is very similar in composition and the degree of its moisture - Angelica will have to create a modification of the swamp in a spacious and deep container or a dug hole. For this, the soil is taken from the bottom of natural or artificial reservoirs - silty, and the consistency and composition of the soil is maintained with the help of natural fertilizers (humus), sand and peat.

Angelica root is similar in taste to a radish (it can be grated and eaten raw or brewed in the form of infusions; boiled like a root vegetable; canned; cut, dry and grind into a powder for medicinal infusions), and the stem and leaf stalks are thick enough and juicy, so that you can make not only a decoction or infusion from them, but also use them raw in food as herbs or spices.

Angelica Medicinal is a useful plant nutrition It is cultivated in western Europe (in particular, in France) as a spice for making soups, salads, wines, baked goods and confectionery products, sauces, preserves, and drinks.