RANUNCULACE^E. XXIX. ACONITUM. 



57 



was put to de'ath by taking one drachm of it. Dodonseus gives 

 us an instance of five persons at Antwerp who ate of the root by 

 mistake and all died. 'Dr. Turner also mentions that some 

 Frenchmen at the same place, eating the shoots of this plant for 

 those of Masterwort, all died in the course of two days, except 

 two players, who quickly evacuated all they had eaten by vomit- 

 ing. We have an account, in the Philosophical Transactions, of 

 a man who was poisoned in the year 1 732 by eating some of the 

 plant in a salad instead of celery, and Dr. Willis in his De Anima 

 Brutorum, gives an instance of a man who died in a few hours 

 by eating the tender leaves of this plant, also in a salad. He 

 was seized with all the symptoms of mania. 



The Aconite, thus invested with terrors, has however been so 

 far subdued as to become a powerful remedy in some of the most 

 troublesome disorders incident to the human frame. Baron Stoerck 

 led the way by administering it in violent pains in the side and 

 joints, in glandulous Scirrhi, tumours, ulcerous tubercles of the 

 breast, &c. to the quantity of from ten to thirty grains in a dose 

 of an extract, the method of making which he describes. In 

 Sweden successful experiments have been made of an extract of 

 the juice of the leaves, in cases of rheumatisms and intermittent 

 fevers, given in doses of from a grain to a scruple twice a day or 

 oftener. A much larger dose has also been safely administered. 

 It is recommended, however, to begin with a small quantity ; a 

 caution the more necessary, when we consider the fatal effects 

 which ignorantly eating the recent herb has sometimes produced. 

 According to Dr. Murray, in his app. med. the chief virtue of the 

 plant is in rheumatic and other chronic disorders. In all these 

 cases the extract above mentioned is the best preparation. It 

 has also been said to be of considerable service in venereal cases, 

 even those of a confirmed nature : to have even discussed nodes, 

 and cured obstinate ulcers, &c. In the Gutta Serena its efficacy 

 has been commended ; but perhaps not so certainly as in the 

 forementioned disorders. The powder of the dried leaves is now 

 more commonly used. All the species belonging to this section 

 possess the same' qualities, and indeed nearly the whole genus. 



Napel, or Monks'-wood. Fl. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1596. PI. 2-3 ft. 



12 A. LA'XUM (Rchb. mon. t. 15. f. 4.) spur capitate; lip or- 

 bicular, obcordate ; filament with a few long hairs ; helmet gaping, 

 arched. If. . H. Native of Switzerland. A. Napellus \I/ mi- 

 crophyllum, Gaud. ined. ? Flowers blue, few, disposed in a loose 

 panicle. 



Zoose-flowered Aconite. Fl. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1820. PI. 2-3 ft. 



13 A. FUNCKIA'NUM (Rchb. ill. t. 66.) spur capitate ; filaments 

 pilose ; helmet open, convex ; peduncles loose, erect, elongated. 

 If. . H. Native of Salzburg on Mount Untersberg, Switzerland, 

 and the Pyrenees. A. Funckii. Rchb. uebers. p. 28. A. pu- 

 b6scens, Mcench. Rchb. A. Napellus ft, pubescens, D. C. syst. 

 1. p. 372. A. angustifolium and squarrosum, Koch. Willd. 

 enum. suppl. Flowers blue. Plant pubescent. 



Punch's Aconite. Fl. June, July. Clt. 1825. PI. 2-3 feet. 



14 A. NEUBERGE'NSE (Clus. D. C. syst. 1. p. 373. Rchb. ill. 

 t. 69.) spur capitate ; filaments pilose ; helmet closed, hemisphe- 

 rical ; peduncles spreading ; lip revolute. If. , H. Native of 

 Styria at Neuberg, Carinthia, Austria, Carniola, and the Pyren- 

 nees, &c. A. Napellus, Jacq. fl. aust. 4. t. 381. A. neomon- 

 tanum, Wulf. Kcell. aeon. 16. A. Cammarum. Var. /3. Lin. 

 spec. 751. exclusive of the synonyms. A. Braunii, Rchb. A. 

 Napellus , Neubergense, Ser. mus. helv. 1. p. 156. Clus. hist, 

 v. p. 96. Bauh. hist. 3. p. 657. Chabr. sciagr. 531. f. 5. 

 Moris, hist. 3. t. 3. f. 11. Racemes loose. Flowers blueish- 

 purple, in loose racemose panicles. Segments of leaves short, 

 bluntish. 



Neuberg Aconite. Fl. June, July. Clt. 1822. PI. 2-3 feet. 



15 A. BERNHARDIA V NUM (Rchb. uebers. p. 34.) spur capitate ; 

 filaments pilose ; helmet closed, hemispherical. If. . H. Native 



VOL. i. PART i. 



of Europe. A. humile Bernhardi, but not of Salisb. Flowers 

 blue. A very elegant species. 



Var. ft, albidum (Bernh. Rchb. uebers. p. 31 .) If.. H. Na- 

 tive of Austria, the Pyrenees, and Switzerland. A. Napellus 

 flore albo, Crantz. A. Napellus <f> albiflorum, Ser. mus. helv. 1. 

 p. 158. Flowers white, disposed in loose spikes. 



Bernhardi's Aconite. .Fl. June, July. PI. 2-3 feet. 



16 A. E'MINENS (Koch, ex Rchb. uebers. p. 35.) spur capi- 

 tate ; filaments pilose ; helmet closed ; lip very long, refracted ; 

 peduncles erectly spreading. If. . H. Native of Europe. A. 

 neomontanum, hort. paris. Flowers blue. 



Eminent Aconite. Fl. June.July. Clt. 1800. PI. 2-4 feet. 



17 A. AUTUMNA'LE (Clus. ex Rchb. aeon. t. 17. f. 2.) spur 

 capitate ; filaments pilose ; helmet open, convex ; peduncles 

 rigidly spreading, i^ . H. Native of Europe. Rchb. ill. t. 67. 

 A. Napellus , grossum. Ser. mus. helv. 1. p. 157. Flowers 

 in loose panicles of a blueish-purple colour. 



Autumnal Aconite. Fl. July, Aug. PI. 3-4 feet. 



ISA. PYRAMIDA'LE (Mill. diet. Rchb. uebers. p. 48. aeon. t. 

 17. f. 2. ill. t. 68.) spur capitate; filaments pilose; helmet 

 closed; peduncles erectly-spreading, longer than the flowers. 

 If. . H. Native of Thuringia, Bohemia, and Styria. A. Napel- 

 lus Leysser. A. neomontanum, Spreng. Flowers blueish-purple. 



Vay. ft, densiflbrum (Rchb. uebers. p. 48.) racemes elongated, 

 crowded, with numerous axillary small racemes. %. H. A. 

 pyramidale, true, Mill. diet. 



Var. 7, elongatum (Rchb. uebers. p. 48.) racemes elongated, 

 with very few short axillary racemes. 



Var. S, bicolor (Rchb. uebers. p. 48.) flowers white, edged 

 with blue. If. . H. A. variegatum Hortul. with A. versicolor 

 and Stoerkianum bicolor. 



Pyramidal Aconite. Fl. July, Aug. PI. 4 feet. 



19 A. ACUMINA'TUM (Rchb. ill. uebers. p. 48.) spur capitate, 

 filaments pilose ; helmet closed, conical, beaked. % . H. Na- 

 tive of? Supposed to be a hybrid between A. cernuum and A. 

 Napellus. Flowers blueish-purple. A. paniculatum /3, acumi- 

 natum, Ser. mus. helv. 1. p. 144. 



Acuminated Aconite. Fl. July, Aug. PI. 2-4 feet. 



20 A. MULTI'FIDUM (Koch. Rchb. ill. t. 70.) spur capitate ; 

 filaments pilose; helmet closed, arched; peduncles erectly- 

 spreading. T(..H. Native of Switzerland and Siberia. A.gigan- 

 teum Amman. A. venustum laxiflorum virgatum and callibo- 

 trys, Rchb. A. volubile, Kcell. 21. A. eriostemum, D. C. 

 syst. 1. p. 377. A. Napellus n, virgatum , macrostachyum, 

 Ser. mus. helv. 1. p. 155. p. 154. Flowers blueish-purple, dis- 

 posed in long beautiful spikes. 



Multifid Aconite. Fl. June, July. PI. 4 feet. 



21 A. AMBI'GUUM (Rchb. ill. t. 23.) spur capitate ; filaments 

 smooth ; helmet closed, hemispherical, arched, obtuse ; lip ob- 

 cordate. If. . H. Native of Siberia. Leaves smooth. Racemes 

 loose,' very seldom bearing many small lateral racemes. Flowers 

 smooth, pale blue. 



Ambiguous Aconite. Fl. June, July. PI. 2-3 feet. 



t Species not sufficiently known, belonging to section Napel- 

 Ididea. 



22 A. AMCE'NUM (Rchb. uebers. p. 23. aeon. 93. t. 14. f. 1.) 

 x peduncles smooth ; spur capitate, bent. If. . H. Native of 



Germany and Switzerland. A. N. S. amplexum, Ser. mus. helv. 

 1. p. 155. Flowers in loose spikes, deep blue. Bracteas short. 

 Helmet semicircular ; limb entire, clasping the lateral sepals. 

 Pleasing Aconite. Fl. June, July. PI. 2-3 feet. 



23 A. OLIGOCA'RPUM (Rchb. uebers. p. 24.) spur capitate,, 

 bent ; peduncles smooth ; capsules 2. If. . H. Native of Styria. 

 Flowers blue. 



Fern-capsuled Aconite. Fl. June, July. PI. 1-3 feet. 



