Japanese Angelica tree (Aralia elata), fam. Araliaceae.
   Found in the yard of a house in Osterska street (see map). A tree with huge twice pinnate leaves. The inflorecsences are large branched panicles, appearing in the second half of summer. By the end of September, the fruits - black berries - ripen, then the leaves fall, and an amazingly bare, subramose frame of the tree is left until the next spring.
   The roots, bark, and leaves of Japanese Angelica tree are raw materials for medicine. They have antitoxic, antiinflammatory, diuretic, hypotensive and hypoglycemic properties. Positive effect of aralia is linked to activation of enzymatic systems and enhancement of energy supply of the body. Similar properties are usual for many members of the Araliaceae family - ginseng and eleutherococcus. The fruits of aralia are, curiously enough, useless.

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