Japanese angelica tree

Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Survives zone 4 through 9

Harvest calendar

Ripens: Shoots harvested in early spring

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

The young spring shoots (taranome) are a well-known Japanese and Korean wild food, most often tempura-fried or blanched. A pioneer species in its native range, colonizing cleared forest ground quickly.

Hardiness

Zone 4–9

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Shoot

Ripens

Shoots harvested in early spring

Mature size

2.4–6 m tall by 1.8–3 m wide

Light

Full sun to part shade

Soil pH

5.5–6.5 (prefers acidic)

Environment

Temperate forest edge, disturbed ground

Native range

Japan, Korea, north-eastern China and the Russian Far East (Amur, Primorye, Sakhalin and the Kurils) — forest clearings, forest edges and other open, moist sunny ground. Widely naturalised in eastern North America and north-west Europe, where it is often invasive.

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Years to fruit

3–4 yrs (shoots, not fruit)

Growth speed

Fast — a vigorous pioneer, and it suckers as freely as it grows

Spacing

250 cm (98 in) apart — about 6.3 m² (67 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Large, bipinnately compound, on a sparsely branched, spiny trunk

Root system

Shallow and strongly suckering, throwing spiny shoots several metres from the parent — the habit that makes it a forest-clearing pioneer at home and an invasive nuisance in parts of North America and Europe. Plant it where suckers can be mown, or not at all.

Fruit description

Small blue-black berries in large open sprays in autumn — eaten by birds, not by people. The crop is the terminal spring bud (taranome), picked once and once only per shoot: take the side buds as well and the stem dies.

Propagation

Seed (soak 24 hours before sowing fresh, ripe seed in autumn), root cuttings, or division of suckers.

Pollination

Insect-pollinated — the late-summer flower heads are a serious nectar source for bees. Not relevant to the crop, which is a bud.

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.