76 HARDY PERENNIALS 
Aconitum. — Popularly known as Monkshood, this 
genus embraces a number of purple- and violet- 
coloured varieties which produce tall upstanding 
spikes of bloom. There are also pale yellow and 
amber-tinted varieties, one or two whites, a variegated 
or bicoloured variety with blue shaded margins to 
its white-ground blossoms, and one or two of deli- 
cate lilac shades. All are handsome plants with 
luxuriant, prettily cut foliage. They are by no 
means difficult to cultivate, but make by far the 
best growth when planted in partial shade, and in 
a fairly moist situation. A. napellus, from which 
the Tincture of Aconite used in medicine is obtained, 
is a native plant. Its flowers are almost indigo blue 
in tint, and as a plant for massing either in the 
garden border or in the broader expanse of woodlands 
or wild garden it has few equals in point of rich 
colour and bold outline. Its variety bicolor is the 
so-called variegated Aconite, and there is also a 
white form. A. japonicum and A. Fischeri autum- 
nale are later flowering kinds, whilst lycoctonum 
and orientale are yellows. Division of the roots is 
easy because the abundant masses of fibrous roots 
emanate from rhizomatous crowns that may be 
pulled asunder, each making a strong flowering 
plant the summer after transplanting. 
Actaea. — This is a small genus of very elegant 
and interesting plants with fine foUage and long 
racemes of white flowers, followed by berries which 
remain attractive for a long period. A. alba has 
