Other name: Monkshood
Flower color: Blue-ish purple
Flowering: Summer
Height: 50-100 cm
Active ingredients: Aconitine
Used parts: Tuber
Aconite is a very poisonous plant which the old roman people already used. It is said that Aconitum Napellus was a well known efficient way to get rid of your annoying husband. Probably there were very much annoying husbands, since Roman emperor Trajanus forbade the planting of Aconite upon sentence of death. Though there were also authorities that like Monkshood very much; The authorities of the Greek island Kos used a simple brew of Aconitum to get rid of useless old and/or sick people. We can also find use of the poison when we look to the anglo-saxons. They used it to make their weapons more deadly.
Though Aconite is very poisonous, it was also used for medical reasons. From around 1550 it was growed as medical herb in the general medical gardens. The plant was mostly used for its calming, analgesic and fever-resistant effect. Still, the most authors of the time warned that one shouldn't use Monkshood too much, because there wasn't a known antidote. Even now Aconite is still used, though this is in very structurated doses, to prevent bad stuff.
According to legends, the poison of Aconite comes from the monster Cerberus. Hercules fought against it on the hill of Aconitus.
Aconite is very poisonous. Every part of this plant is deadly. It can be fatal within three to four hours.
For more details, see the Poisonous plants page.
PLEASE NEVER USE ACONITE UNLESS A QUALIFIED DOCTOR SAYS OTHERWISE. EVEN THEN, BE VERY CAREFULL WITH IT!