Aconitum elwesii Stapf in Ann. R. Bot. Gard. Calc. 10: 174, f. 112a. 1905. A. uncinatum auct. non L.; Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1 : 28. 1872. A. variegatum Hook. f. & Thomson, Fl. Ind. 56. 1855.

Herbs, biennial; stems scandent, slender, weak, very long, sparingly branched, glabrous or puberulous. Basal leaves not seen; cauline leaves scattered, 6 - 12 cm in diarn., pubescent; lamina ovate-cordate or rotund with wide sinus, palmately 3 - 5-partite; lobes cuneate-ovate, finely toothed; leaf-axils without bulbils. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, paniculate; flowers few to many; pedicels recurved. Sepals blue or violet, sparingly hairy; uppermost sepal narrowly helmet-shaped, arched, ca 2 x 1 cm, shortly ( ca 8 mm) beaked; upper lateral sepals ca 1.5 x 1.3 cm; lower lateral sepals 10 - 13 x 4 - 5 mm; spur reflexed. Petals glabrous. Filaments winged. Follicles 5, glabrous; testa of seeds plaited.

Fl. & Fr. May - Sept.

Distrib. India: Climbing on shrubs in moist forests of alpine zones in E. Himalayas, ca 2400 m. Sikkim.

Nepal, Bhutan and China (Tibet).