Aoonitwn. Aconitum is noteworthy in giving a new chemical spe- 

 cies of aconitine for each new botanical species analyzed, although all 

 the aconitines are apparently closely related. 4 These plants should 

 not be planted in or near kitchen gardens or in children's gardens, 5 as 

 their roots, leaves, and sometimes the flowers may cause poisoning. 



The roots or underground parts of monkshoods show considerable 

 variation and, in collecting the plants, these parts should always be 

 represented. 67 The roots of all western monkshoods are perennial, 

 many are clustered, and most of them tuberous. The pithy or solid, 

 often slender stems are frequently solitary, 1 to 6 feet tall, and vary 

 greatly in leafiness and hairiness. The leaves are alternate, pal- 

 mately lobed or divided, the lower ones long-stalked, and the upper 

 ones somewhat reduced in size and short-stalked. The showy arid 

 ornamental flowers, which appear from mid to late summer, are 

 wholly unlike those of any other plant in our flora, and are readily 

 identifiable by the peculiar helmet-shaped hood formed by the large 

 upper sepal. The fancied resemblance of the flower to the hood 

 which a monk commonly wears is the origin of the English name, 

 monkshood. The flowers occur in short, few-flowered or long and 

 many-flowered, branched clusters, and are characteristically deep 

 blue, although they may vary from violet to white. Frequently, the 

 seed pods (follicles) in the lower part of the cluster have matured 

 their seed while the upper flowers are still in blossom. Monkshoods 

 are reproduced by root division as well as from seed. 



These plants are attractive, hardy perennials much used for 

 borders and mass formations in horticultural plantings because of 

 their showy flowers and effective foliage. 



The western species of monkshood, when not in bloom, may be 

 confused with tall species of larkspur (Delphinium spp.) with which 

 they are frequently associated, because of the similarity of the leaves 

 and the somewhat analogous growth habits. Differentiation between 

 the destructive, poisonous larkspurs and the (from a range stand- 

 point) harmless monkshoods is not especially difficult, as the latter 

 have solid or pithy stems in contrast to the hollow stems of the 

 larkspurs. Furthermore, the roots of western monkshoods are short, 

 clustered, somewhat fleshy, and tuberlike with short, yellowish root- 

 lets, whereas the tall larkspurs have long, dark-colored, fibrous roots 

 from well-developed, tough, somewhat woody root crowns. When 

 the plants are in bloom, the irregular flowers of monkshood with 

 the hoodlike upper sepal are so distinctive as to be readily recog- 

 nizable ; the spurred flowers of the larkspurs are also unmistakable. 



Early in the season, before the stems develop, the western monks- 

 hoods may be confused with the species of wild geranium, or cranes- 

 bill (Geranium spp.) as the leaves are very similar, but ordinarily 

 the crushed foliage of the latter has the characteristic geranium odor. 



*McNair, J. B. THE EVOLUTIONARY STATUS OF PLANT FAMILIES IN RELATION TO SOME 

 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. Amer. .Tour. Bot. 21 : 427-452, illus. 1934. 



5 Bailey, L. H. THE STANDARD CYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE . . . New ed., 3 v., illus. 

 New York and London. 1938. 



6 Reichenbach, H. T. L. MONOGRAPHIA GENERIS ACONITI ICONIBUS OMNIUM SPECIERUM 



COLORATIS ILLUSTRATA LATINE ET GERMANICE ELABORATA. 100 pp., illuS. Leipzig. 1820. 



7 Reichenbach, H. G. L. NEUE BEARBEITUNG DER ARTEN DER GATTUNG ACONITUM, UNO 

 EINIGER DELPHINIEN. [146] pp., Illus. Leipzig. 1823-1827. 



