Meet the herbs
Angelica / 當歸
Found in these Herbriva bars:Black Sesame Shampoo Bar, Wild Mint Shampoo Bar, Chamomile Shampoo Bar
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What it is
Angelica is the root of Angelica sinensis, a member of the carrot family. A whole root has a thick head with a cluster of tapering side roots below it, pale brown outside and cream-coloured within. Sliced, it shows ivory rounds with a darker ring near the edge.
It is oily enough that a cut surface stays slightly tacky, and the smell — sweet and celery-like, with something heavier underneath — carries across a room. That oiliness is the point of how it is dried, and the reason a badly dried root is obvious the moment you pick it up.
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The ground it grows on
Minxian sits at 2,000 to 2,800 metres on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau — a short summer, deep humus-rich soil, and ground that stays cold and wet through most of the year.
Read note ↗Processing
From field to jar
Sown one year, lifted and stored over winter, set out again the next spring. Dug in late autumn of the second year, then dried slowly over low smoke rather than in sun.
Read note ↗Grading
How it was judged
One of the few roots sold in separated parts — head, body and tail priced differently. Roots from Minxian carried their own trade name, mín guī, long before anyone wrote down why.
Read note ↗In the tradition
Dāng guī was among the most commonly stocked roots in a herbal cabinet, and one of the few sold in graded parts — the head, the body, and the fine tail roots were separated and priced differently. Roots from Minxian carried their own name, mín guī, and the distinction was recognised in trade long before anything was written down about why.
What's in it
Contains ferulic acid, ligustilide, and n-butylidenephthalide.
This page describes a plant and its place in Chinese herbal tradition. It is not a description of what our products do, and nothing here is medical advice.
