﻿(87.) 



ACONI'TUM* * 



Linnean Class and Order. Polyan'driaI, Pentagy'nia. 



Natural Order. Ranuncula'ce.-e, Juss. Gen. PI. p. 231. — 

 Sm. Gram, of Botany, p. 136. — Lindl. Syn. p. 7. ; Introd. to Nat. 

 Syst. p. 6. — Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 465. — Loud. Hort. Brit. p. 495. 



Gex. Char. Calyx none. Corolla [calyx of Decandolle, Lind- 

 ley, and Hooker) inferior, unequal, of 5 petals, 4 of them in pairs, 

 opposite ; the upper one hooded, or tubular, inverted, the convex 

 or hinder part being uppermost, the deflexed point recurved ; 2 la- 

 teral ones roundish, opposite, converging ; 2 lowermost oblong, 

 deflexed. Nectaries ( petals of Lindl . ) (fig. 3.) 2, within the hol- 

 low of the uppermost petal, on long awl-shaped stalks, tubular, 

 drooping, oblique at the orifice, recurved at the honey-bag behind. 

 Filaments (figs. 1 & 3.) numerous, broad at the base, awl-shaped, 

 short, directed towards the upper petal, some of the innermost often 

 dilated and abortive. Anthers roundish, small, upright. Germens 

 (fig. 2.) superior, 3, 4, or 5, oblong. Styles terminal, awl-shaped, 

 spreading. Stigmas simple, acute. Capsules f follicles J (fig. 4.) 

 as many as the germens, straight, egg-shaped-oblong, of 1 valve, 

 bursting at the inner side. Seeds (fig. 5.) numerous, angular, rugged, 

 at the edges of the capsule. 



The naked corolla of 5 petals, the upper one hooded ; and the 

 2 recurved, stalked nectaries concealed within the hollow of the 

 uppermost petal or hood ; will distinguish this from other genera 

 in the same class and order. 



One species British. 



ACONI'TUM NAPE'LLUS. Common Wolf’s-bane. Monk’s- 

 hood. Helmet-flower. Friar’s-cap. 



Spec. Char. Upper petal arched at the back, spur of the 

 nectary nearly conical, bent down, wings of the stamens cuspidate 

 (bristle-pointed), or none. Leaves deeply 5-cleft, cut, with strap- 

 shaped segments, furrowed above. Germens 3 — 5, smooth. 



Linn. Sp. PI. p. 751. — Woodv. Med. Bot. v. i. p. 16. t. 6. — Purt. Midi. FI. 



v. iii. p. 47, note. — Sin. Engl. FI. v. iii. p. 31. — With. (7th ed.) v. iii. p. 665. 



Lindl. Syn. p. 13. — Ilook. Brit. FI. p. 261. — Don’s General System of Gaiden- 

 ing and Botany, v. i. p. 56 . — Napellus verus coeruleus, John. Ger. p. 972. 



Localities. — In watery places ; by the sides of streams, &e. Rare. First 

 discovered in a wild state by the Rev. Edwabd Whitehead, of Corpus Christi 

 College, Oxford, in 1819 . — Devonshire ; In some profusion on the margin of a 

 limpid stream between two and three hundred yards below Ogwell Mill, in a 

 small meadow, with a footpath leading down the opposite side of the stream : 

 F. Russell, Esq. and Dr. Withering, 1827. — Herefordshire; In a truly 

 wild state by the side of the river 'Feme ; and in great abundance on the banks 

 of a brook, running into that river: Rev. E. Whitehead, Fellow of Corpus 

 Christi College, Oxford, 1819. Banks of a brook near Little Hereford ; June, 



Fig. 1. Stamens.— Fig. 2. Germens, Styles, and Stigmas.— Fig. 3. Nectaries 

 and Stamens. — Fig. 4. A Capsule or Follicle. — Fig. 5. A Seed. 



* Theophrastus derives the name from Aconis, Gr. a city of Bithynia, near 

 which'it is said to abound : other Etymologists deduce it from aeon, acne, Gr. 

 a dart ; savage nations poisoning their missiles with a preparation from certain 

 species. Dr. Withering. 

 f See Anemone nemorosa, fol. 43. note t- 



