This bushy plant is common all over Britain. It flowers in summer and
autumn, and it likes to grow in damp places, especially beside streams.
At first you might mistake the Wild Angelica for Goutweed, as the leaves
are very similar, but there are several differences. The Wild Angelica
flowers are small and white, sometimes they are tinged with lilac, and
they grow in clusters at the end of green spokes like the ribs of an
umbrella.
At the back of each cluster of flowers you will find three tiny pointed
green leaves, and at the top of the stem where all the spokes join there
are other three. This is the first difference.
The seeds of the Wild Angelica are quite a different shape from the
Goutweed seeds. They are much broader, with rough ridges running up
them, and they have no bristles standing up at the top. This is the
second point to notice.
The Wild Angelica stalk is beautifully tinged with rich purple, not in
spots as in the Common Hemlock, but all over; and it is smooth, with
fine lines running up and down. This is a third point.
And lastly, the leaves grow from the end of a curious large round
sheath. This sheath is pale green and is very smooth and silky. It
clasps the stem, which seems to grow right through the middle of it.