ANGELICA, a genus of plants of the family Umbelliferae, represented in Britain by one species, A. sylvestris, a tall peren nial herb with large bipinnate leaves and large compound umbels of white or purple flowers. The name Angelica is popularly given to Angelica (Archangelica) officinalis, the tender shoots of which are used in making certain kinds of aromatic sweetmeats. In the Faroe islands and in Iceland, where the plant grows abun dantly, A. officinalis has long been used as a vegetable, though in recent years angelica gardens have been more or less replaced by cabbage gardens.
Angelica balsam is obtained by extracting the roots with alcohol, evaporating and extracting the residue with ether.