Angelica is one of the strongest medicinal plants in our latitudes, but is very easy to confuse with other umbelliferous plants. In particular, a confusion with the water or spotted hemlock - one of the deadliest plants in our latitudes - as well as with the giant hogweed (also known as Hercules perennial) can quickly become very dangerous.
Angelica can be recognized, among other things, by its special smell
Defining characteristics - an overview
The table below gives you an initial overview of the most important identifying characteristics of the various umbelliferous plants, which are easily confused with one another. The most important distinguishing feature is the color of the flowers - the umbels of angelica are green, while all other plants are white.
| height | root | stem | foliage leaves | petioles | blossom | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicinal Angelica | up to three meters | turnip-shaped rhizome | round, slightly grooved and hollow | long stalked, two to three times pinnate | round, hollow | hemispherical to spherical, green |
| forest angelica | up to one and a half meters | rhizome | round, slightly grooved and hollow | Underside hairy, two to three times pinnate | clots | hemispherical, white or pink |
| water hemlock | up to one and a half meters | rhizome | hollow, finely grooved, spotted red below | pinnate two to three times, grey-green underside, dark green above | ribbed | flat to hemispherical umbels, white |
| Giant Bear Claw | up to three meters | up to 15 cm thick taproot | hairy, mottled dark to purple, hollow | fingered | including leaves up to three meters long | plate-shaped, white |
differentiation by smell
While giant hogweed and angelica are relatively easy to tell apart, it's not so easy to tell the extremely toxic hemlock from angelica. In addition to the color of the flowers, the specific smell of the plants can also be used to differentiate - while Angelica exudes a sweet, pleasant smell reminiscent of a bittersweet (especially the stem!), the also very intense scent of the spotted hemlock is more reminiscent mouse urine and is described as very unpleasant.
tips
Because of the very high risk of confusion, laypersons are advised not to collect angelica from the wild. However, you can also cultivate the medicinal plant in your own garden or purchase the plant components or the essential oil in a pharmacy.