|
Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Angelica venenosa
Hairy Angelica is a plant that erupts into clouds of tiny white flowers in mid-Summer and attracts great numbers of nectar-seeking insects. It is a member of the Carrot or Parsley family, and thus has great resemblance to those plants as well as many others, like Queen Anne’s Lace, Fennel, Dill and Cilantro. Hairy Angelica looks virtually indistinguishable from these nonnative plants and actually performs a great deal better because it is notably more drought-tolerant. Add to this the fact that it is easy to seed, saves water, holds its own against weeds, and requires nothing other than the admiration of its beauty in the hottest time of the year.
In a field or meadow setting, Hairy Angelica will amaze its planter with sprays of white that are stunning in large clumps or drifts. They also make excellent cut flowers when combined with other larger and more colorful native blooms like Coneflowers, Rudbeckia, and Sunflowers.
Apiaceae (Carrot/Parsley)
Herbaceous perennial with a deep, stout taproot. Leaves divide between 1 and 3 times, with serrated leaflets, with petioles winged toward their bases. Stems and flower pedicels/peduncles are finely hairy. Cloudy white flowers are borne in compound umbels in mid-summer. Fruits are rounded, hairy, flattened, with 3 ridges on each side and 2 wings on the edges. Plant dies to its massive taproot in cold months.
4-6 feet tall
Herbaceous perennial
Fast
Full sun. Flowering tapers off as shade increases.
Hairy Angelica requires no supplemental irrigation, fertilizer, or mulch. It self-seeds readily and thrives in poor, dry soils.
The primary asset of Hairy Angelica is its umbels of white flowers. It is also a wonderful experience to watch the caterpillars of the Black Swallowtail grow from tiny orange eggs into magnificent, large caterpillars—often one can watch them spin their cocoons, too!
Hairy Angelica is best used in natural or informal settings. It may be too aggressive for formal or small gardens. It looks best in clumps, groups, and naturalized with other native wildflowers in a meadow or open field.
Hairy Angelica’s foliage is eaten by the caterpillars of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly, whose caterpillar superficially resembles that of the Monarch. In sunny areas, the caterpillar is a wonderful combination of black, green, and white but in shadier areas it forsakes the green coloring for just black and white; either is spectacular. The adult itself is one of our largest native butterflies and may be seen feeding on the nectar of other native wildflowers throughout summer.
Native over much of the eastern US from Florida north to New England and west to the Mississippi River. It favors thin, upland woods and dry open places like fields and meadows.
Seed is best. Transplanting can be difficult because of the deep taproot.
Text by Kevin Tarner, Georgia Wildlife Federation
|
