W2 



Aconi'tum spp. 



Monkshoods compose a fairly large genus of perennial herbs of the 

 buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), being principally natives of the 

 mountainous regions of the North Temperate Zone. Other common 

 names used for the genus are aconite and wolfbane ; the latter name, 

 however, is perhaps best restricted x to the Old World A. lycoctonum, 

 and aconite to the cultivated drug plant, A. napeUus. Aconitum is 

 the classical name for these plants. The genus is better represented 

 in the Old World, and widely varying opinions exist about the num- 

 ber of species, as many as TO species being recognized by some 

 botanists. Probably about 15 species occur in the United States, 

 Canada, and Alaska, each of the western range States having one or 

 more species. The Intermountain region, with 6 species, is the 

 center of distribution in this country. 



In the West, monkshoods grow chiefly in the mountains, usually 

 singly or in small patches, and seldom occur in great abundance over 

 large areas. They appear commonly in moist open woods, along 

 creeks, in meadows and grasslands, often extending into the higher 

 mountains where the growing season is short. Their habitat is simi- 

 lar to that of larkspurs, with which they are often confused. Al- 

 though widely distributed, monkshoods are seldom, if ever, suffi- 

 ciently abundant to attain major importance on the range. They 

 constitute fair feed for sheep, poor for cattle, and are but rarely 

 grazed by horses. Although technically poisonous, the monkshoods 

 probably never cause livestock fatalities, or even sickness on the 

 range. 2 The most poisonous part of these plants is the root, usually in- 

 accessible and unattractive to livestock. The seeds are also poison- 

 ous. The root of wolfbane (A. lycoctonwn)^ cultivated in this coun- 

 try as an ornamental, has been extensively employed in the Old 

 World to destroy wolves and other predators. 



The important drug aconite, an arterial and nervous sedative, 

 used in the treatment of sciatica and other neuralgias and in various 

 other disorders, is commercially obtained from the roots of the Old 

 World plant of similar name, A. napellus? which is also the species 

 of Aconitwn most commonly cultivated in the United States as an 

 ornamental. The chief active principle of this drug is the alkaloid 

 aconitiiie (Cf4HOuN), a powerful poison. Apparently true aconi- 

 tine is known only from A. napellus, similar alkaloids (previously 

 called aconitine) derived from other monkshoods proving to be 

 somewhat different chemically. McNair reports that the various 

 aconitines have been separated only from members of the genus 



1 American Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature. STANDARDIZED PLANT 

 NAMES. Prepared by F. L. Olmsted. F. V. Coville, and H. P. Kelsey. 546 pp. Salem, 

 Mass. 1923. 



2 Marsh, C. D. STOCK-POISONING PLANTS OF THE RANGE. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 1245, 

 rev., 75 pp., illus. 1929. Supersedes Bull. 575. 



8 Wood, H. C., Remington, J. P., Sadtler, S. P., assisted by Lyons, A. B., and Wood, 



H. C., Jr. THE DISPENSATORY OF THE UNITICD STATES OF AMERICA., BY DR. GEO. B. WOOD 



AND DE. FRANKLIN BACHE. Ed. 19, thoroughly rev. and largely rewritten . . . 1,947 

 pp. Philadelphia and London. 1907. 



