Filmy Angelica

Description

Angelica triquinata - Mountain Angelica, Filmy Angelica. There are about 24 species of Angelica in the North America, with only 18 of those in the central and western half of the continent. Angelica triquinata - Mountain Angelica - is one of four Angelica species found in the eastern United States (2 are only in eastern Canada). It has a fairly narrow distribution, being found in the Appalachian Mountains from far northeast Georgia up through Pennsylvania. It is Endangered in Kentucky and Maryland. Of the other eastern species, A. atropurpurea is a more northern species has 20 to 45 umbellets vs 13 to 25 umbellets for A. triquinata, and the acute-tipped leaflets are mostly glabrous, while the acuminate leaflets of A. triquinata have ciliate margins. A. dentata is found only in southwestern Georgia and the panhandle of Florida, and both it and the most widely distributed eastern member of the genus, A. venenosa, have obtuse leaf tips, and A. venenosa is densely pubescent. The species name of this last species speaks to the poisonous nature of the plant; there are also indications that A. triquinata is poisonous, based on the drugged reaction of certain insects to the nectar.