Plants Pacific Northwest

Aconitum: Monkshood

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Aconitum: Monkshood, wolfsbane, aconite.

Aconitum napellus (Aconite)
Possibly from akontion - dart, from its use to poison arrows.

Perennial herb with ascending or nearly trailing stems; leaves alternate, palmately, 3 - 9 lobed, flowers in terminal racemes or panicles, white to deep blue-purple, upper part hood like; fruit of 3 - 5 separate follicles.

Aconitum Uncinatum (blue flowers) are native in rich woods, on slopes, and along creeks in the mountains and Piedmont of Georgia northward into Ohio and New York. Aconitum nepellus (Purple-Blue flowers) is European and is commonly cultivated in gardens of the United States and Canada.

This botanically variable genus contains about a hundred species. Several occur wild and cultivated in gardens throughout United States and Canada. Aconitum is closely related to Delphinium which it resembles in color, habit and habitat, toxic principles, and syndrome produced, and with which it is often confused.

All parts of the plant contain the alkaloid aconitine and others. Symptoms are intense vomiting and diarrhea, muscular weakness and spasms, weak pulse, paralysis of the respiratory system, convulsions, and death within a few hours after eating the flowers, stems, leaves, or roots.

Tincture of the whole plant and root at the commencement of flowering.

Proving by Hahnemann, in Fragmenta de viribus medicamentorum positivis (1805); and in Materia Medica Pura vol. 1, 1st edition (published 1811), expanded in the 2nd & 3rd editions. Homoeopathic application described in Hahnemann's Essay on a New Principle for Ascertaining the Curative Power of Drugs (Hufeland's Journal, 1796), and in his paper Observations on the Scarlet-Fever (Allg. Anzeig. der Deutschen, 1808; in the treatment of epidemic purple miliary fever).

A long tradition of use in European medieval herbal medicine, and as a poison. Adopted by the allopathic medicine of Hahnemann's day.

Family Ranunculaceae, subfamily Helleboreae: acon., acon-c., acon-f., acon-l., act-sp., aquil., calth., cimic., hell., hell-f., hell-o., hell-v., staph.

Lower mountain slopes of the northern Eastern hemisphere, from the Himalayas through Europe to Great Britain.

"... from a thorough consideration of the symptoms presented by the purpura miliaris just mentioned [which Hahnemann distinguished from the epidemic scarlet fever previously prevailing], in the particular character of its purely inflammatory fever with agonizing anxiety and restlessness, I found that aconite must be the specific remedy ... and experience has confirmed the truth of the remark."
- Samuel Hahnemann, Examination of the Sources of the Common Materia Medica (from part 3 of the Materia Medica Pura), referring to his experiences treating epidemic purpura miliaris between 1800-1808. See Observations on the Scarlet-Fever (Allg. Anzeig. der Deutschen, 1808, in Dudgeon's The Lesser Writings of Samuel Hahnemann).

Aconitum napellus

Questa pianta necessita di continue cure ed esige un terreno sempre ben nutrito, umido e profondo. Si consiglia di tenerla lontano dalla portata dei bambini, in quanto risulta velenosa in tutte le sue parti.
Nome comune: Aconito, Napello Tipo di pianta: perenne (decidua)
Fioritura: da luglio ad agosto
Impianto: DA ottobre a marzo
Altezza max: 95-110 cm
Larghezza max: 50-60cm

Caratteristiche

Fiore Foglia Terreno Esposizione
Composto DA 5 larghi petali, di colore azzurro-viola intenso, presenta quello superiore a forma di elmo. Lunga 8-12 cm e larga 6-9, di colore verde scuro, si presenta profondamente divisa. Umido, concimato, profondo, di qualsiasi tipo Mezz'ombra, ma anche sole.