Aconitum falconeri
Stapf in Ann. R. Bot. Gard. Calc. 10: 163. 1905. A.
ferox auct.
non Wallich ex Seringe; Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 28. 1872, p.p.
Herbs, biennial; roots paired, tuberous, up to 12 cm long, ca 2.5 cm thick; stems
erect, up to 2 m high, simple below, branched above, finely puberulous. Leaves scattered;
lower petioles up to 12 cm long; upper leaf-blades palmately 3 -
5-partite; lobes narrowly
cuneate-ovate of broadly deltoid or trapezoid, sparingly hairy. Inflorescence terminal,
stiff, erect, dense raceme, finely pubescent with soft hairs or tomentose with spreading
hairs; lower pedicels nearly 4 cm long; bracts pinnately lobed. Sepals blue with dark tips,
pubescent, helmet-shaped, shortly beaked. Petals (honey scales) minutely hispid. Carpels 5,glabrous, black when dry. Follicles 5, erect, glabrous; seeds winged along raphe;
testa plaited.
KEY TO THE VARIETIES
| 1a. Lobes of leaves narrowly cuneate-ovate; inflorescence finely pubescent with soft hairs | 7.1. falconeri |
| b. Lobes of leaves broadly deltoid or trapezoid; inflorescence tomentose with spreading hairs | 7.2. latilobum |
