46 
The B R I T 1 S 
H HERBAL. 
It is a poifonoiis plant. Dodonasus gives an 
account of five perlbns who eat the root of ir, 
through a miOiake, in their food at Antwerp, and 
ail died. There have been other inftances of the 
fame kind ; and it is faid to deftroy fuch wild 
beafts as tafte or eat it. There is a tradition, 
how true we know not, that wolves tear up the 
root of fome plants in winter tor their food, and 
foinetinnes miftaking this, perifli by its poifon : 
henee it has obtained the name of •wolfjliane. 
It is fiid, that, when kept in gardens, it is kfs 
fatSI than wild \ which is probable : all plants 
having their faculties, of whatever kind, more 
flrong in their wild ftate than when brought into 
culcuie. 
2. Great purple Monks-Hood. 
AconUiim -purpurcum maximum. 
The root is iung, large, and fiirnifhed with 
abundance of libres. 
■ The firft leaves are large, broad, and divided 
into a few great fegments. 
The flalk rifes-to five feet in height, and is ro- 
bufl, firm, and very little branched 
'I he leaves ftand alternately, and are like thofe 
from the root: they are divided down to the 
footlUlk, into five principal p;irts, the middle 
one of which is largeih They are of a pale green, 
and deeply ferrated. 
'I"he fio7/ers Hand in long fpikes at the tops of 
the branches ; and are very large, and of a beau- 
tiful deep purple : but they vary in this refpeiSf, 
being fometimes red or flclh coloured. 
The ieed-vefi^is follow as in the other fpecies, 
but the number is not certain ; ufually there are 
three, fometimes four. 
It is common in the mountains of Germany, 
and t^,owers in Auguft, 
J. Bauhine calls it Aconltum hcoSlomim fiorc 
maximo. C. Bauhine, Aconitum cifniko purpurea 
jlore maximo, five NapeUus qiiartus. 
3, Yellow Monks-Hood. 
Aconltum jlore lutco. 
The root is compofed of a multitude of thick 
aitanglcd fibres. 
The fiifl leaves are large, broad, and in a 
manner rounded in their general form, but di- 
vided deeply into about five parts. 
The ftalk is robuft, firm, erecl, aad four feet 
high. 
The [eaves ftand irregularly on it, and have 
long footftalks : they are like thofc from the root, 
divided deeply into five parts ; and thofe are 
iharp at tjie points, and ferrated at the edges. 
The flowers are fmaller than thofe of the com- 
mon monks-hood, and of a beautiful yellow. 
The feeds follow in caplules, three after every 
flower. 
It is a native of many parts of Europe, and 
flowers in July. 
The flowers are fometimes of a deep yellow, 
fometimes ftraw-coloured, or whitlfh. 
C. Bauhine calls it Aconilum IjcoBonum luteum_ 
J. Bauhine, Aconitum folio platani Jlore luteo pal. 
hjceuU. 
4. Little, blue, fiovvered Monks-Hood. 
Aconitum c^eriihum mimis. 
The root is compofed of a vaft number of fibres 
interwoven with one another. 
The firft leaves ftand on iong footftalks ; and 
are broad, and indented deeply, rather than di- 
vided into fegments. 
The ftalk is flcnder, purphfli, and about two 
feet and a half high, but not very firmly eredt. 
The leaves ftand irreguJatly on it : they are 
fupported on footftalks, and arc divided fome- 
what deeper than thofe from the root, but not To 
deeply as in moft of the other fpecies : the divi- 
fion is into three principal parts, foinctimes into 
five ; and thefe are cut deeply at the edges. 
The flowers are large, and of a deep and beau- 
tiful blue : they ftand in a particular manner, 
not in long fpikes, as thofe of the others, but 
fingly at the tops of flender ftalks rifing from the 
main ftem. 
It is a native of Italy, and flowers in May; 
C. Bauhine calls it Aconitum caruleim minus^ 
five Nnpelliis minor.^ DodonjEus, Aconitum far- 
vmii Cit'rulcum. 
All thefe fpecies partake of the polfonous na- 
ture of the firft kind ; but there is one refembling 
them in form, and of the fame genus that is 
falutary, and is efteemed an antidote in particular 
againft their poifon. 
5. Wholefome Monks-Hood. 
Author a. 
The root is compofed of many irregular, thick, 
and tuberous pieces. 
The firft leaves are fupported on long foot- 
ftalks, and are divided to the bottom into five 
fegments : thefe are broad, and notched at the 
edges. 
The leaves on it ftand irregularly, and are di- 
vided into numerous, narrow, plain fegments : 
they arc of a pale green on the upper-fide, and 
whitifti underneath. 
The flowers ftand at the tops of the ftalks and 
branches, and are like of the other monks-hood in 
form ■, of a beautiful yellow colour ■, and of aplea- 
fant, though flight fmell. 
The feeds follow in capfules, three, four, or 
five after each flower. The number of thefe is 
uncertain, but five is the moft common. It is a 
native of Germany, and flowers in June. 
C, Bauhine calls it Aconitum faiutiferum, fve 
Anthora. Others, Anthora^ and Antithora. 
The root is kept in the druggifts Ihops, and 
was once much ufed as a cordial and fudorifick ; 
there have been miftakes about the kind, and 
they have been fatal When frefti dried, this 
root purges vehemently ; but that quality goes 
oft' in keeping. This is not particular to this 
plant : but it is a very ftifficient reafon why it 
never ftiould be ufed; becaufe it will beimpoflible 
for the phyfician who prefcribes it to know its 
rtrengch. 
G E- 
