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Southern blue monkshood

Aconitum uncinatum

Also called Wild Monkshood

Southern blue monkshood
Photo: Dr. Thomas G. Barnes/Universtiy of Kentucky, Public domain

Southern blue monkshood is a perennial wildflower from the eastern United States that grows in moist woods and along streams. It needs cool, damp, partly shaded conditions, and all parts are poisonous.

Family
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Grows as
Bulb
Light
Part shade, Shade
Water
Keep soil consistently moist, especially in spring and summer.
Soil
Rich, moist, humus-rich woodland soil.
Temperature
Hardy in cool temperate climates; tolerates cold winters.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: All parts contain aconitine-type alkaloids; the roots and seeds are most poisonous before flowering and can cause serious heart and nerve effects if eaten.
Native range
Illinois to E. U.S.A.
Climate
temperate

About

Aconitum uncinatum, commonly known as wild monkshood or southern blue monkshood, 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. It grows in the eastern United States in the Appalachian Mountains, on the Piedmont, and on the upper Atlantic Coastal Plain.

Safety

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.

Other Aconitum plants

Yellow monkshood · Aconitum assamicum · Aconitum biflorum · Aconitum bucovinense · Carmichael's monkshood · Columbian monkshood · Korean Monk’shood · Aconitum decipiens · Branched Monkshood · Indian aconite · Aconitum firmum · Fischer monkshood

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aconitum uncinatum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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