Aconite

Family Ranunculaceae. Latinization of the Greek 'akoniton', the name of the plant used to poison wolves and other predators. The etymology of the word is unclear.

The name probably derives from the ancient Greek city of Acone, in the vicinity of which these flowers grew in abundance.

According to ancient Greek myth, aconite grew from the poisonous saliva of the terrified hellhound Cerberus, whom Heracles brought from the underworld to the earth (the eleventh labor of Heracles). The Russian name "boréts" (борец) for the plant is due to Scandinavian mythology: boréts grew at the place of the death of the god Thor, who defeated a venomous serpent and perished from its bites. The poisonous properties of aconite were known already in antiquity: the Greeks and the Chinese made arrow poison from it; in Nepal it was used to poison bait for large predators and drinking water when assaulting an enemy. The whole plant — from roots to pollen — is extremely poisonous; even the smell is toxic. Plutarch writes that soldiers poisoned with aconite by Mark Antony lost their memory and were vomited with bile. According to tradition, the famous khan Timur died from aconite — his skullcap was soaked with poisonous juice. The toxicity of the plant is caused by alkaloids contained in it (primarily aconitine), which affect the central nervous system and cause convulsions and paralysis of the respiratory center. The poisonousness of aconite depends on geographical location (soil, climate), on the age of the plant — in southern latitudes it is maximally poisonous, while in Norway, for example, it is fed to animals. When cultivated in garden soil, aconite loses its poisonous properties after several generations. The medical uses of this plant are very diverse; in Tibet it is called the "king of medicine", it was used to treat anthrax and pneumonia; in Russian folk medicine it was used externally as an analgesic. To date some species of aconite are listed in the Red Book.

Description: the genus includes more than 300 species, distributed in the temperate regions of Europe, Asia and North America. Perennial rhizomatous or tuberous herbaceous plants with erect, more rarely sinuous or twining stems 50-150 cm high (in twining species up to 400 cm). Rhizomes oblong-ovoid up to 5 cm long and 2 cm wide. Depth of penetration of the roots into the soil 5-30 cm. Leaves palmately divided, dissected or lobed, dark green, arranged alternately. Flowers of irregular shape, blue, purple, more rarely white, yellow or variegated. The corolla-like calyx consists of five sepals, the upper one taking the form of a hood, under its cover are two petals transformed into nectaries. Flowers are gathered in a simple or branched racemose inflorescence up to 50 cm long. They bloom from July until the end of September. Fruit a many-seeded follicle, with straight or arcuate teeth. Seeds small, gray, brown and black in color, up to 450 per 1 g, retain viability for 1–1.5 years.

The most popular aconite is the hooded, or blue, (A. napellus). A very variable complex species, widespread over most of Europe, which is sometimes divided into smaller local species. For example, in the Carpathians they distinguish aconite firm (A. firmum) and aconite low (А. nanum), in the Alps — aconite compact (A. compactum). The variability of this species, which allows selection from many forms, contributed to its spread in gardens, but also became the cause of terrible confusion in names. Other related species, also introduced into cultivation, did not add clarity. These are aconite paniculatum (A. paniculatum) — a southern European species with a branched stem. Flowers on long spreading pedicels form a loose panicle, seeds with one wing. Aconite variegated (A variegatum) — somewhat intermediate between them, combines traits of both. It is found together with them in the same places, in particular in the Carpathians. And finally, aconite cammarum, bicolored, Störck or graceful (А. х cammarum = A. bicolor =A.x stoerckianum = A. gracile) — a hybrid of the variegated and the blue, which finally confuses everything. It combines the traits of both parents, but has a more interesting, often bicolored, flower coloration. This contributed to its long and firm establishment in our gardens, appearing in the form of various cultivars: 'Биколор' ('Bicolor') — strongly branched, with short inflorescences of white flowers with a purple rim. 'Грандифлорум Альбум' ('Grandiflorum Album') with long panicles of pure white flowers, 'Пинк Сенсейшн' ('Pink Sensation') pink.