We recently purchased a new home which came with the attached plant. The previous owners were told that it was a herb. The leaves look like celery leaves. There is now significant aroma to the leaves. This plant now stands about 5 feet tall. I have not been able to find anything like it in reference books. Any help would be gratefully appreciated. I hope the pictures come through clear enough.
Your pictures look as though you might have Angelica archangelica. Richter's Herb Catalog describes it as a member of the umbellacaea family, best known use is candied stems with a flavor similar to licorice. Grows 3 to 5 feet tall, and is short-lived (2-3 years) if the flower heads aren't removed early. Susan
According to David Tarrant, Public Relations and Program Coordinator at UBC Botanical Garden, the plant pictured is more likely lovage (Levisticum officinale). Angelica is a larger, coarser plant with more spherical flower heads. Both lovage and angelica are edible. Lovage was once touted as an aphrodisiac, hence the name love-parsley, but is now mostly used to flavour soups (which can be easily detected in some popular European dry packaged soups). The leaves can be eaten in salads, the stems blanched and eaten like celery and the seeds used in breads and salads. Lovage is shade tolerant, but grows to 1.5m, so is unsuitable for smaller spaces. Angelica stems are sometimes added to stewed rhubarb to counteract tartness. Angelica, lovage, and the closely related sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata), are excellent subjects for the organic garden as they attract hoverflies (whose young are effective pest-eating beneficials).
