At the beginning of this year I decided to experiment a little: I would expand my knowledge of angelica, attempt to grow Japanese sushi rice, and tackle the world that is ancient wheats. All of these are grand ideas for a small back garden, some of them faintly ludicrous. Currently, the rice eludes me and the wheat I’ll save for another day; but oh… the angelica!
Angelica span the northern hemisphere, from our northern European Angelica archangelica to those found in Korea, Japan and China. Many are used in traditional herbal medicines and eaten as a vegetable, from candied stems to boiled leaves and roots.
The modern love for angelica is centred around the handsome, architectural flowers, which appear from late summer to early autumn and turn into equally good seed heads. Many species are biennial, remaining as just a crown of leaves for the first year and then flourishing to the sky to flower in their second. A. archangelica, with its green flowers and contrasting crimson pink stems, is a good starting point. The Korean A. gigas takes things up a notch: the huge, domed flowerheads are deep, dark crimson and most elegant.
However, I wanted to find the rarer ones, steeped in the magical herbal properties offering a long life. The seed of some of these is not easy to come by, so it was with great excitement that this spring I got hold of some ashitaba, A. keiskei ‘Koidzumi’. Ashitaba means “tomorrow’s leaf” in Japanese and refers to its impressive regrowth. You can pick a leaf first thing in the morning that often results in a new one appearing overnight.
Ashitaba grows on the Pacific coast of Japan and is perennial, growing to 120cm high. It is known for being an important food for samurai and has a long folkloric history as the herb for extending a healthy life. Recent studies show that it has impressive antioxidant qualities, and there’s an internet wormhole you can fall into researching its many potential health benefits. You can make a tea out of it or use the leaf and root as a vegetable. Raw, it tastes a lot like celery.
The leaves are glossy, trilobed and pretty, and it has a lovely umbel of white flowers. It has great potential as a garden plant. You’ll have to scour the internet to find seed, though; and jump on any that becomes available this autumn. Seed must be fresh and sown the following spring. I have yet to find anyone offering it in the UK. Still, I urge the curious to seek it out.
