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angelica, Lyall's angelica, sharp-tooth angelica, shining angelica, white angelica

Habit Herbs 50–200 cm.
Stems

glabrous.

Leaves

basal and proximal cauline 2–3-ternate-pinnate, rarely pinnate;

rachis not geniculate;

blade ovate-triangular to orbiculate, 15–30 cm;

primary leaflets spreading to ascending; ultimate leaflets lanceolate to ovate or elliptic, (30–)60–90(–130) × 10–40(–60) mm, length 2–5 times width, herbaceous, margins serrate or double-serrate, glabrous, apex acute, surfaces not glaucous, glabrous, abaxial sometimes scaberulous on veins;

distalmost cauline with blade shorter than petiole or absent.

Umbels

terminal and axillary, convex to flat-topped;

involucral bracts 0(–2), linear, 4–9 mm, margins entire;

rays (16–)18–60(–75), 2–10 cm, unequal, webbed, minutely scaberulous or glabrous;

involucel bractlets 0(–4), filiform, 3–6 mm, shorter than to ± equaling pedicels, margins entire.

Pedicels

2–10 mm, webbed.

Flowers

petals white, sometimes tinged with pink, abaxial surface glabrous;

ovary glabrous.

Seeds

adhering to pericarp.

Schizocarps

oblong to orbiculate or obovate;

mericarps 5–8 mm, glabrous, ribs unequal, wings thin, lateral wings wider than abaxial, narrower than to ± equaling body;

oil ducts adhering to pericarp, abaxial only between ribs, 1 per interval, 2–4 on commissure.

2n

= 22.

Angelica arguta

Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Stream banks, moist to wet meadows, sometimes open forests.
Elevation 60–2600 m. [200–8500 ft.]
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

In California, Angelica arguta is found only in the Cascade and Klamath ranges. Molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that plants from the Klamath Ranges belong to a clade with A. breweri, A. californica, A. hendersonii, and A. tomentosa, whereas plants from the Rocky Mountains (Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) belong to a clade with A. lineariloba and A. scabrida; subtle morphological differences are also found (Liao C. Y. et al. 2022). Whether this reflects A. arguta consisting of two species or the results of hybridization is unclear, nor have plants from throughout the range of A. arguta been examined phylogenetically.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 13.
Parent taxa Apiaceae > Angelica
Sibling taxa
A. ampla, A. archangelica, A. atropurpurea, A. breweri, A. californica, A. callii, A. canbyi, A. capitellata, A. dawsonii, A. dentata, A. genuflexa, A. grayi, A. hendersonii, A. kingii, A. lineariloba, A. lucida, A. pinnata, A. roseana, A. scabrida, A. sylvestris, A. tomentosa, A. triquinata, A. venenosa, A. wheeleri
Synonyms A. lyallii, A. piperi
Name authority Nuttall in J. Torrey and A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 620. (1840)
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