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Purple-stem Angelica

Angelica atropurpurea

Found in marshes, fens, sedge meadows, seeps, riverbanks, streambanks, moist roadsides, ditches. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not scored

Native status: sources disagree, under review. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Height
3–10 feet
Spread
2–6 feet
Light
Full to part sun
Soil moisture
Average to moist

Space about 4 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 6 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
May to June
Fruiting season
July to August

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 5 West Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 6

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Angelica

  • Papilio polyxenesBlack Swallowtail
  • Idia americalisAmerican Idia
  • Papaipema harrisiiHeracleum Stem Borer Moth, Cow Parsnip Borer
  • Agonopterix clemensella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Apiaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4–7
Flower color
Green
Fruit begins
July
Fruit ends
August

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Purple Stem Angelica

Conservation status

West Virginia rankSNA
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Growing cautions

For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.

Sources