ANGELICA  , a genus of

plants of the natural order Umbelliferae, represented in Britain by one species, A. sylvestris, a tall perennial herb with large bipinnate leaves and large compound umbels of white or purple flowers . The name Angelica is popularly given to a plant of an allied genus, Archangelica officinalis, the tender shoots of which are used in making certain kinds of aromatic sweetmeats . Angelica balsam is obtained by extracting the roots with alcohol, evaporating and extracting the residue with ether . It is of a dark brown colour and contains angelica oil, angelica wax and angelicin, C16H3°O . The essential oil of the roots of Angelica archangelica contains /3-terebangelene, C,0H,6, and other terpenes; the oil of the seeds also contains 0-terebangelene, together with methylethylacetic acid and hydroxymyristic acid . The angelica tree is a member of the order Avaliaceae, a species of Aralia (A. spinosa), a native of North America; it grows 8 to 12 ft. high, has a simple prickle-bearing stem forming an umbrella-like head, and much divided leaves .