Aconitum uncinatum

Aconitum uncinatum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Ranunculaceae
Genus:	Aconitum
Species:	A. uncinatum
Binomial name
Aconitum uncinatum L., 1762 [1]

Aconitum uncinatum, commonly known as wild monkshood ^[2] or southern blue monkshood, ^[3] is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It grows in moist to wet habitats along streams and in woods and clearings. ^{[2] [4]} It grows in the eastern United States in the Appalachian Mountains, on the Piedmont, and on the upper Atlantic Coastal Plain. ^[4]

Illustration of Aconitum uncinatum

Toxicity and uses

The roots and seeds contain alkaloids, which are most poisonous before flowering. The plant has been used to make medicine to treat neuralgia and sciatica. ^[5]

References

1. "Aconitum uncinatum L." International Plant Names Database. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
2. "Aconitum uncinatum (wild monkshood)". Go Botany. New England Wildflower Society. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
3. NRCS. "Aconitum uncinatum". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2018-04-08.
4. Brink, D.E.; Woods, J.A. (1997). "Aconitum uncinatum". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2018-04-08– via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
5. Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 725. ISBN   0-394-50432-1.