Angelica gigas - Angélique rouge, Angélique de Corée, Angélique géante, Dangquai

Angelica gigas, the Korean Angelica or Giant Angelica, is a remarkable biennial with tall purplish-red stems and large umbels of dark purple. They bloom at the end of summer, when flowering becomes less abundant in the garden. The flower buds, enveloped in violet sheaths, are already very decorative. This architectural plant brings verticality and colour to moist soils, woodland edges, and naturalistic gardens. Its nectar-rich flowers attract bees, hoverflies, and other foraging insects.

This species belongs to the family of Apiaceae, formerly called Umbelliferae. It is native to Korea and Manchuria, in northeastern China. In its natural habitat, it grows in montane meadows, cool valleys, clearings, and along watercourses. It generally lives for two or three years. The first year, it produces a broad rosette of leaves. Flowering occurs the following year, sometimes later when conditions are less favourable. Each plant dies after flowering and producing its seeds. Young plants may appear near the mother plant. Growth accelerates strongly in the spring of the flowering year. The thick, hollow and distinctly ribbed stems take on a wine-red to purplish hue. They branch in their upper part and commonly reach 1.50 to 2 m in height. In deep, consistently moist soil, they can approach 2.50 m. The plant then forms a clump of about 1 m in width, sometimes more. The large leaves are a medium green and measure up to 40 cm long. They are several times divided into oval or diamond-shaped leaflets, pointed and finely toothed. The upper leaves have petioles expanded into swollen sheaths that surround the flower buds. From August to September, the stem tips bear dense umbels, domed to almost spherical, measuring 10 to 12 cm in diameter. Each umbel comprises a multitude of small five-petalled flowers of a deep purplish red. They produce much nectar. After pollination, small oval dry fruits form, turning brown as they ripen. The foliage is deciduous: all above-ground growth disappears after fruiting or due to cold. The plant develops a thick, deep taproot. Well-established specimens therefore do not tolerate transplanting well.
Angelica gigas was described in 1917 by the botanist Takenoshin Nakai. Its root, known in Korea as cham-dang-gui, belongs to traditional Korean pharmacopoeia. However, the plant sold for the garden should not be consumed without specialised identification and advice. As with several Apiaceae, contact of the sap with the skin followed by exposure to sunlight can cause a skin reaction.

In a large moist border, in gentle sun or partial shade, the tall purplish stems of Angelica gigas tower over lower perennials. Alongside, the Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Blackfield’ bears long burgundy spikes that contrast with the large purple umbels. The Sanguisorba officinalis ‘Red Thunder’ adds its small dark red flower heads on slender stems. The Cimicifuga brunette is decorative with its nearly black foliage and pinkish-white spikes. At the edge, the Hakonechloa macra ‘Nicolas’ forms a graceful clump that takes on bronze and orange tones in autumn. All appreciate humus-rich soil, moist in summer, near woodland or by a pond. The cut and dried flowers of this red angelica can form impressive cut flower arrangements.