Angelica
Angelica archangelica
Also called Garden angelica, Holy ghost and Wild celery (angelica)
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitWEAR SLEEVES IN SUN. The sap contains furanocoumarins and skin that has had it on it blisters in sunlight, sometimes days later — the same chemistry as giant hogweed, milder but real. It is biennial: let one flower and it seeds itself for ever.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 4 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Part shade, in ground that stays damp
- Feed
- Every 45 days
- Humidity
- Average to high
- Hardiness
- Very hardy RHS H7, to -25°C
- Size
- 2 m tall · 1.2 m across
- Lifecycle
- Biennial
- Origin
- Northern Europe and Greenland
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way. ASPCA lists an "Angelica Tree" as toxic to dogs, cats and horses — that page is Aralia spinosa, the devil's walking stick, a different plant in a different family. It says nothing about garden angelica.
Safe to eat: the stems, candied, and the young leaf stalks.
The sap contains furanocoumarins: skin that has had it on it blisters in sunlight, sometimes a day or two later. The same chemistry as giant hogweed, milder but real — cover your arms to cut it, and never strim it.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- A magnificent two-metre plant that flowers and then dies outright. It is biennial and that is the end of its life, not a failure — leave one head to seed if you want it again.Dying after flowering · disorder
- Dense colonies of small black aphids packed round the upper stem just under the flower head, with ants running up to them.Blackfly on the stems · pest