Angelica (danggui) is known first by its smell: the moment the root is dug out, the rich fragrance arrives ahead of it—that drawer in the pharmacy, when pulled open, gives off a scent that is sweet, pungent, and faintly earthy.

The Smell of Opening the Medicine Pouch

Anyone who has handled angelica remembers that smell: rich, sweet with a sting, and the moment the pouch opens the whole drawer carries it. Its root is large, much-branched, pale yellowish brown when cut, oily, with fine rings visible on the section.

The same root is used by parts: the crown is called “guetou,” the main root “guishen,” the branch roots “guiwei,” each with its own use. One medicine divided into three parts—this is the measure kept within a single plant.

— Botany Notes, self-inscription —

A branch sent to a far place urges the wanderer home—

inside the medicine, it turns out, there is a hometown.

Nine Prescriptions Out of Ten

It is the blood-tonifying principal drug of Chinese medicine; the ancients said “nine out of ten prescriptions”—of ten blood-regulating formulas, nine commonly use it. It both tonifies and activates blood, regulates menstruation and relieves pain—a regular in gynecological formulas.

Its fame rests on combination: with astragalus it focuses on tonifying qi and generating blood; with chuanxiong and white peony it focuses on regulating menstruation. Medicinal properties must be read together—the credit of a single herb is usually given by the formula.

The Yearning in Its Name

Angelica belongs to the Apiaceae; its old names connect with the idea of longing for return. A herb name hiding a sentence of longing is not uncommon in the Chinese materia medica—herbs exist to serve people’s ailments and people’s hearts.

The name “danggui” also has an explanation from its use: the ancients held that it causes qi and blood each to return to their proper places—hence “should return.” A pretty name, but in the end its own work is done well.

• How to know it: Perennial herb; root large and much-branched, strongly aromatic; leaves two to three times pinnate; compound umbels, white flowers; root used in medicine.
• Season: Roots of two-to-three-year plants are dug in late autumn; foliage peaks in summer, flowers June to July.
• Caution: A blood-tonifying and blood-activating medicine of Chinese medicine—use only under a TCM physician’s differentiation; do not take long-term on your own.

Three Years in the High, Cold Mountains

It is chiefly produced in the high, cold mountain districts of Gansu, Yunnan, and Sichuan; the Minxian area is especially famous. Cultivation raises seedlings and transplants them; it likes cool, moist conditions, fears high heat and standing water, and dislikes continuous cropping—a field must rest for years after one planting.

The harvest work comes in autumn: dig the roots, knock off the soil, tie them into bundles, bake and sun them, slowly smoke-drying the roots into strips. A root of three years’ stand finally becomes a slightly oily handful of medicine—the mountain’s time is all gathered inside.

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Keywords: angelica · blood tonic · Chinese medicine · Gansu