Aconitum L

Herbs, perennial, biennial or rarely annual, usually erect, rarely scandent or twining. Leaves basal and on stems, simple, suborbicular or broadly ovate in outline, generally ternately palmati-partite or deeply divided or incised with lateral segments, again deeply divided or rarely pinnatisect. Flowers zygomorphic, in simple or branched racemes, often reduced to few or solitary. Sepals 5,petaloid,blue,yellow,reddish,purple or white; the uppermost larger, broader, hood-like, concave, boat-shaped or helmet-shaped, rarely spurred; the two upper lateral sepals obovate or suborbicular, flat; the two lower lateral sepals narrower and somewhat unequal, oblong or elliptic. Petals (honey-scales) 4 or 5, only 2 posterior ones developed and transformed into nectaries, with a slender grooved basal claw, broadening into a sac-like hooded limb, with terminal nectariferous spur, enclosed within the uppermost sepal, the anterior petals small or absent. Stamens numerous. Follicles usually 3 - 5, rarely 9 - 12, somewhat erect, sessile. Seeds many, with pongy rugose or wrinkled testa.

North temperate regions; ca 300 species, 27 in India.

Literature. STAPF, O. (1906) Aconites of India - A monograph. Ann. R Bot. Gard. Calc. 10: 115 - 197, tt. 92 - 116.

KEY TO THE SPECIES

1a. Herbs, scandent or twining

2

b. Herbs, erect

3

2a. Pedicels recurved; flowers nodding; lamina of leaves pubescent

6. Aconitum elwesii

b. Pedicels straight; flowers erect; lamina of leaves glabrous

18. Aconitum lethale

3a. Annual herbs, with slender tap root; carpels 9 or more, up to 12

11. Aconitum gymnandrum

b. Perennial or biennial heros, usually with a paired tap-root; carpels 3 - 5, rarely up to 8

4

4a. Flowers solitaty or 2 at stem apex or up to 4 in a raceme

5

b. Flowers in dense racemes or panicles

7

5a. Flowers always solitaty, carpels 6 - 8

9. Aconitum fletcherianum

b. Flowers 1 - 2 at stem apex or 1 - 4 in a raceme; carpels 5

6

6a. Flowers 1 - 2 at stem apex; leaves mostly from hypogeous stem base; uppermost sepal helmet-shaped

15. Aconitum kashmiricum

b. Flowers 1 - 4 in a raceme; leaves mostly only basal; uppermost sepal boat-shaped

22. Aconitum naviculare

7a. Perennial herbs

8

b. Biennial herbs

10

8a. Follicles divergent; uppermost sepal helmet-shaped

17. Aconitum laeve

b. Follicles contiguous or erect; uppermost sepal ovate or boat-shaped, not helmet-shaped

9

9a. Uppermost sepal ovate with a long beak

23. Aconitum novoluridum

b Uppermost sepal boat-shaped without a beak

19. Aconitum moschatum

10a. Petals (honey-seales) hispid or hispidulous

11

b. Petals (honey-scales) glabrous

16

11a. Carpels glabrous, dtying black

12

b. Carpels pubescent, if glabrate then not drying black

13

12a. Inflorescence a few-flowered raceme; sepals glabrous

10. Aconitum gammiei

b. Inflorescence a stiff dense raceme; sepals pubescent

7. Aconitum falconeri

13a. Carpels 3 (rarely 4 - 5 in A. laciniatum)

14

b. Carpels 5

15

14a. Flowers blue; uppermost sepal up to 6 mm broad

5. Aconitum deinorrhizum

b. Flowers reddish purple or dark red; uppermost sepal 13 - 15 mm broad

16. Aconitum laciniatum

15a. Uppermost sepal horizontal, conspicuously beaked; carpels densely velvety with yellow hairs

21. Aconitum nakaoi

b. Uppermost sepal oblique, shortly beaked; carpels pubescent or glabrate, not as above

12. Aconitum heterophylloides

16a. Carpels 3

17

b. Carpels 5

18

17a. Flowers yellow, in panicles

1. Aconitum assamicum

b. Flowers blue, in terminal racemes

25. Aconitum soongoricum

18a. Carpels glabrous

19

b. Carpels pubescent

20

19a. Inflorescence a loose panicle; uppermost sepal obscurely beaked

3. Aconitum bisma

b. Inflorescence a dense raceme; uppermost sepal with long and slender beak

4. Aconitum chasmanthum

20a. Leaves all or most from hypogeous base of stem

21

b. Leaves basal and cauline

23

21a. Sepals sparingly hairy; uppermost sepal helmet-shaped, rarely navicular

14. Aconitum hookeri

b. Sepals pubescent; uppermost sepal mostly boat-shaped

22

22a. Leaves 1 - 2 at base, and only 1 - 2 higher up; lamina laciniate

27. Aconitum violaceum

b. Leaves 4 - 5 (-8), mostly basal in loose rosettes; lamina with broad lobes

24. Aconitum rotundifolium

23a. lower leaves present at the time of flowering; leaves heteromorphous

13. Aconitum heterophyllum

b. lower leaves decayed at the time of flowering; leaves uniform

24

24a. Seeds broadly winged along raphe

2. Aconitum balfouri

b. Seeds transversely lamellate, not winged along raphe

25

25a. Leaf-lamina glabrous, 3-partite

20. Aconitum nagarum

b. Leaf-lamina finely pubescent,5 or more partite

26

26a. Bracteoles linear, not dentate; flowers dirty blue; petal bead ca 6 mm long

8. Aconitum ferox

b. Bracteoles broad, dentate; flowers saturated blue; petal head 10 - 11 mm long

26. Aconitum spicatum

List of Lower Taxa