Ranunculaceea—A conitun. 19 
13. ACONITUM. 
Erect perennial poisonous herbs with palmately divided 
leaves. Flowers in racemes or panicles, blue, purple, yellowish, 
or white, Sepals 5, the dorsal or upper one helmet-shaped, 
the two lateral broader than the two anterior. Petals 5, small, 
the two upper with long claws hooded at the tip; the three 
inferior smaller or undeveloped. Carpels 3 to 5, sessile, 
free, many-seeded. The classical name. There are about 
twenty species, natives of the mountains of the north tempe- 
rate zone. 
1. A. Napéllus (fig. 16).—Common Monkshood. This is 
found in almost every old cottage garden. The typical form 
has blue flowers, but there are several varie- 
ties with white and blue flowers, differing 
in size and form. A widely distributed 
plant throughout temperate Europe and 
Asia. 
2. A. Lycéctonwm. Wolfsbane.— Very 
distinct from the foregoing, attaining a \ 
height of 6 or 7 feet, having large deeply | 
divided leaves and yellowish flowers. Like 
the last, a Summer-flowering plant. Native 
of the South of Europe. 
Zanthorhiza apiifolia, Yellow-root, is a 
dwarf shrubby plant from North America, 
with pinnate or bipinnate leaves and panicled 
racemes of drooping dull purple regular 
flowers. Sepals 5. Petals 5, smaller than the 
sepals, clawed. Hydrdstis Canadénsis, Z 
Orange-root, is anallied herbaceous perennial J 
with one large lobed radical leaf and two 
smaller ones on the flower-scape, which bears 
one small greenish flower destitute of petals. 
Act&a spicata, Baneberry, is a native plant 
of this affinity. It is a perennial, with "1 Aconitum Napelins. 
ternately divided leaves and small racemose 
flower succeeded by a several-seeded bluish-black berry. North 
of England, and northern temperate regions generally. 
ec 2 
