Aconitum

Plant Characteristics

Origin:	✈	?

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.

Scientific Names

Ranunculaceae >

Aconitum >

Read about Aconitum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Northern Blue Monkshood (Aconitum noveboracense) Aconitum. Ranunculaceae. Aconite. Monkshood. Wolfsbane. A group of hardy ornamental, perennial herbs, much used in borders and masses for their showy flowers and effective foliage. Root tuberous, turnip-shaped, or thick-fibrous: st. tall or long, erect, ascending or trailing: lvs. palmately divided or cleft and cut-lobed: fls. large, irregular, showy; sepals 5, the large upper sepal in shape of a hood or helmet; petals 2-5, small; stamens numerous; carpels 3-5, sessile, many-ovuled, forming follicles when ripened. The number of species varies from 18-80, with different botanists. Native in mountain regions of Eu.. Temp. Asia, and 5 in N. Amer. Reichenbach Monographia Generis Aconiti, Leipsic, 1820, 2 vols., folio; Illustratio Specierum Aconiti, Ixnpsic, 1822-7, folio. Many species are planted in European gardens, but only a few have been much used in Amer. The aconitums yield important drugs, although none of them is grown for this purpose in this country. The officinal aconite is derived from the roots of A. Napellus from England and continental Europe. The leaves are also used for medicinal purposes. A. japonicum yields Japanese aconite; A. chinense. the Chinese aconite; and A. ferox the "bish" or Nepaul aconite. The poisonous alkaloid aconitin is secured from A. Napellus, and similar alkaloids from A. ferox, A. luridum and A. palmatum, of India, A. Fischeri, A. Lycoctonum, A. septentrionale. Not all these species are described here, as fhey are not horticultural subjects. These plants present a pleasing contrast to the yellow helianthus and rudbeckias, the white of Phlox paniculata, to Chrysanthemum maximum and Anemone japonica. They are also effective for mixing in on shrub borders. The first season, these herbs do not attain their full perfection. Aconitums should be left undisturbed as long as possible. They will survive the northern winters if kept under a leaf-covering, while for the central part of the country, straw or evergreen boughs are sufficient protection. The following species do well in any garden land, but respond better if given very rich soil. They thrive in open sun, but flowers last longer in shaded places. Aconites should never be planted in or too near the kitchen-garden or the children's garden, as the roots and some of the flowers have a deadly poison. They are suited to the back of the border, as they are tall. Propagation is effected easily by division of roots in either late fall or early spring; also by seeds sown as soon as mature, in warm spring, in the North, the seeds may be started in small seed-beds in the spring and then be transplanted when the seedlings are about 2 inches high. In the Central States and southward, a year is gained by sowing the seed in late summer or early fall. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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Species

List^wp:

Aconitum ajanense Aconitum albo-violaceum Aconitum altaicum Aconitum ambiguum Aconitum angusticassidatum Aconitum anthora (Yellow Monkshood) Aconitum anthoroideum Aconitum apetalum Aconitum axilliflorum Aconitum baburinii Aconitum baicalense Aconitum barbatum Aconitum besserianum Aconitum biflorum Aconitum bucovinense Aconitum burnatii Aconitum carmichaelii (Carmichael's Monkshood) Aconitum charkeviczii Aconitum chasmanthum Aconitum cochleare Aconitum columbianum (Western Monkshood) Aconitum confertiflorum Aconitum consanguineum Aconitum coreanum Aconitum crassifolium Aconitum cymbulatum Aconitum decipiens Aconitum degenii (syn. A. variegatum ssp. paniculatum) Aconitum delphinifolium (Larkspurleaf Monkshood) Aconitum desoulavyi Aconitum ferox (Indian Aconite) Aconitum firmum Aconitum fischeri (Fischer Monkshood) Aconitum flerovii Aconitum gigas Aconitum gracile (synonym of A. variegatum ssp. variegatum) Aconitum helenae Aconitum hosteanum Aconitum infectum : Arizona Monkshood Aconitum jacquinii (synonym of A. anthora) Aconitum jaluense Aconitum jenisseense Aconitum karafutense Aconitum karakolicum Aconitum kirinense Aconitum krylovii Aconitum kunasilense Aconitum kurilense Aconitum kusnezoffii : Kusnezoff Monkshood Aconitum kuzenevae Aconitum lasiostomum Aconitum leucostomum Aconitum longiracemosum Aconitum lycoctonum Aconitum macrorhynchum

Aconitum maximum (Kamchatka Aconite) Aconitum miyabei Aconitum moldavicum Aconitum montibaicalense Aconitum nanum Aconitum napellus (Monkshood; type species) Aconitum nasutum Aconitum nemorum Aconitum neosachalinense Aconitum noveboracense (Northern Blue Monkshood) Aconitum ochotense Aconitum orientale Aconitum paniculatum Aconitum paradoxum Aconitum pascoi Aconitum pavlovae Aconitum pilipes Aconitum plicatum Aconitum podolicum Aconitum productum Aconitum pseudokusnezowii Aconitum puchonroenicum Aconitum raddeanum Aconitum ranunculoides Aconitum reclinatum (Trailing White Monkshood) Aconitum rogoviczii Aconitum romanicum Aconitum rotundifolium Aconitum rubicundum Aconitum sachalinense Aconitum sajanense Aconitum saxatile Aconitum sczukinii Aconitum septentrionale Aconitum seravschanicum Aconitum sichotense Aconitum smirnovii Aconitum soongaricum Aconitum stoloniferum Aconitum stubendorffii Aconitum subalpinum Aconitum subglandulosum Aconitum subvillosum Aconitum sukaczevii Aconitum taigicola Aconitum talassicum Aconitum tanguticum Aconitum tauricum Aconitum turczaninowii Aconitum umbrosum Aconitum uncinatum (Southern Blue Monkshood) Aconitum variegatum Aconitum volubile Aconitum vulparia (Wolfsbane) Aconitum woroschilovii

Natural hybrids

• Aconitum × austriacum
• Aconitum × cammarum
• Aconitum × hebegynum
• Aconitum × oenipontanum (A. variegatum ssp. variegatum × ssp. paniculatum)
• Aconitum × pilosiusculum
• Aconitum × platanifolium (A. lycoctonum ssp. neapolitanum × ssp. vulparia)
• Aconitum × zahlbruckneri (A. napellus ssp. vulgare × A. variegatum ssp. variegatum)

Gallery

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  Unidentified Aconitum (possibly Aconitum carmichaelii)

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  Trailing White Monkshood (Aconitum reclinatum)

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  Southern Blue Monkshood (Aconitum uncinatum)

References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

• w:Aconitum. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Aconitum QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)