Aconitum

Monk's-hood Aconitum napellus, copyright Bernd Haynold.

Belongs within: Ranunculaceae.

Aconitum, the aconites, is a diverse genus of often highly toxic herbs found in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Characters (from Flora of China): Herbs perennial or pseudoannual, rarely annual, with taproots or 2 to several caudices. Stem erect or twining. Leaves simple or compound, cauline ones alternate, sometimes all basal, palmately divided, rarely undivided. Inflorescence usually racemose. Pedicel with 2 bracteoles. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic. Sepals 5, petaloid, purple, blue, or yellow; lower sepals 2, narrowly lanceolate or oblong, small; lateral sepals 2, suborbicular; upper sepal falcate, navicular, galeate to cylindric. Petals 2, clawed; limb usually with lip and spur, secretory tissue usually at limb apex, rarely abaxial. Staminodes usually absent. Stamens numerous; anthers ellipsoid-globose. Carpels 3–5(–13); style short, persistent.

<==Aconitum
    |--A. alpino-nepalense O88
    |--A. amplexicaule O88
    |--A. angulatum O88
    |--A. anthora C55
    |--A. bhutanicum Kadota 1988 K88
    |--A. coreanum WB03
    |--A. dhwojii O88
    |--A. gammiei O88
    |--A. gymnandrum K88
    |--A. heterophylloides O88
    |    |--A. h. var. heterophylloides O88
    |    `--A. h. var. leucanthum O88
    |--A. heterophyllum K88
    |--A. hookeri O88
    |--A. japonicum K88
    |--A. laciniatum O88
    |--A. napellus C55
    |--A. naviculare O88
    |    |--A. n. var. naviculare O88
    |    `--A. n. var. leiocarpum O88
    |--A. nepalense O88
    |--A. novoluridum O88
    |--A. orochryseum O88
    |--A. pulchellum O88
    |--A. rotundifolium Kar. & Kir. 1842 (see below for synonymy) K88
    |--A. senanense K88
    |--A. spicatum O88
    |--A. staintonii O88
    |--A. tamuranum O88
    |--A. tanguticum (Maximowicz) Stapf 1905 (see below for synonymy) K88
    `--A. violaceum O88

Aconitum rotundifolium Kar. & Kir. 1842 [=A. napellus var. rotundifolium (Kar. & Kir.) Hooker & Thoms. 1872; incl. A. rotundifolium ssp. iliense Worosch. 1945, A. rotundifolium var. obtusilobum Tamura 1960, A. tianshanicum Ost. Sacken & Ruprecht 1896] K88

Aconitum tanguticum (Maximowicz) Stapf 1905 [=A. rotundifolium var. tanguticum Maximowicz 1889; incl. A. popovii Steinb. & Schisch. ex Sipliv. 1974, A. tanguticum var. trichocarpum Hand.-Mazz. 1939] K88

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[C55] Candolle, A. de. 1855. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 1. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.

[K88] Kadota, Y. 1988. Aconitum bhutanicum (Ranunculaceae), a new species from Bhutan. In: Ohba, H., & S. B. Malla (eds) The Himalayan Plants vol. 1. The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 211–216.

[O88] Ohba, H. 1988. The alpine flora of the Nepal Himalayas: an introductory note. In: Ohba, H., & S. B. Malla (eds) The Himalayan Plants vol. 1. The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 19–46.

[WB03] Wang, Q.-M., F.-Y. Bai, J.-H. Zhao & J.-H. Jia. 2003. Bensingtonia changbaiensis sp. nov. and Bensingtonia sorbi sp. nov., novel ballistoconidium-forming yeast species from plant leaves. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 53: 2085–2089.