''Aconitum henryi'' is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name Sparks variety monkshood.

Description

''Aconitum henryi'' is a tall (up to tall), spindly, erect perennial which grows from

rhizomes In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

. It has glossy dark green divided leaves, the surfaces are glabrous or adaxially sparsely appressed pubescent. The stem is long with far-spaced flowers. The sepals are blue or deep violet-blue. The flowering period extends over the months of September and October. The fruits are pod-like follicles. ''Aconitum henryi'' is poisonous due to the presence of

alkaloids Alkaloids are a broad class of naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms i ...

. This species is often cultivated. There are different varieties.

Taxonomy

It was found in China and then first described and published by German botanist Ernst Georg Pritzel in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. (Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik) Vol.29 on page 329 in 1900. It was verified by

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

and the

Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...

on 18 February 1998.

Distribution

This wildflower is native to China, (within the provinces of Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan and Zhejiang) where it grows in forests and scrubs in mountainous areas ( above sea level).Encyclopedia of Life
Aconitum henryi
(2018-04-03)

Conservation

It is considered a plant of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

on the 'Asia Red List' of plants based on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

References

henryi Taxa named by Ernst Pritzel Flora of China Garden plants of Europe Plants described in 1900 {{Ranunculaceae-stub