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The plant is distinguished by its pungently aromatic smell and the distinctive sheaths at the base of the upper leaves encircling the stem. Angelica glauca grows to about 1-1.5 m in height. The leaves are pinnately divided with the lower leaves being ternate pinnate. The leaflets are dark green above and shiny below, slightly oval, serrate and mucronate. The flowers are present in large stalked, highly branched umbels and are mostly whitish. The fruits are glabrous and flattened. The plant has a very well developed, thick and highly aromatic roots, which increase in size and thickness with age. Angelica is a tall, erect perennial glabrous herb with thick brownish aromatic roots. The plant is a partial shade bearer and is found growing in moist patches of the Himalayan hill slopes. Being a perennial in the high altitudes, it shows the classical sub-alpine growth cycle. The winter dormant roots produce new sprouts with the melting of snow and the onset of spring. The plant exhibits vigorous vegetative growth for 3 months and moves into the reproductive phase by mid-July. Seed setting is completed by the end of September. After the seeds are dispersed by wind, the shoots dry up and the roots become dormant before snowfall. The plant valued for its highly aromatic roots.
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