Ashitaba (Angelica keiskei)

Ashitaba (Angelica keiskei) is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. It grows to a height of 50–120 cm and features green foliage and white flowers arranged in large, umbrella-shaped clusters (umbels). Its leaves are pinnately divided. The plant is cold-hardy, with an optimal temperature range of 12–22°C.

It is widely cultivated in gardens, flower pots, and home yards due to its ease of care and rapid growth rate. If a leaf is harvested in the morning, a new shoot often emerges overnight, becoming visible by the following morning.

The stalks, leaves, and taproots are used in various culinary applications and products, such as soba, tempura, shōchū, tea, ice cream, and pasta. The plant is claimed to possess cytotoxic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, and antimicrobial properties; however, these effects have not yet been confirmed in vivo.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Subfamily: Apioideae
Tribe: Selineae
Genus: Angelica L. in Sp. Pl.: 250 (1753)
Species: Angelica keiskei (Miq.) Koidz. in Fl. Symb. Orient.-Asiat.: 20 (1930)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Archangelica keiskei Miq. in Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavi 3: 62 (1867)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Angelica keiskei f. foliosa Konta & S.Matsumoto in Bull. Natl. Sci. Mus. Tokyo, B. Bot. 31: 28 (2005)
Angelica utilis Makino ex Y.Yabe in J. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Tokyo 16(4): 79 (1902)

PUBLICATIONS

Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 529. MIM, Deurne.

Iwatsuki, K., Boufford, D.E. & Ohba, H. (eds.) (1999). Flora of Japan IIc: 1-328. Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo.

Koidz. (1930). In: Fl. Symb. Or.-Asiat. 20.

VERNACULAR NAME

Chinese (simplified): 明日叶
Chinese (traditional): 明日葉
English: Ashitaba
Indonesia: Seledri jepang
Japanese: アシタバ
Java; Sledri jepang
Russian: Дудник съедобный

Aryo Bandoro
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