''Aconitum lycoctonum'' (wolf's-bane or northern wolf's-bane)Pharmacographica indica Vol 1
/ref> is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of flowering plant in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Aconitum ''Aconitum'' (), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, leopard's bane, devil's helmet, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family (biology), family Ranunculaceae. These herbaceous perennial ...

'', of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Ranunculaceae,

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to much of Europe and northern Asia.Flora Europaea
''Aconitum lycoctonum''
/ref> It is found in lowlands to the subalpine zone, mainly in forests and shaded habitats. Along with ''A. napellus, A. lycoctonum'' is of the most common European species of the ''Aconitum'' genus. They are also grown ornamentally in gardens, thriving well in ordinary garden soil. As such, ''A. lycoctonum'' can be found in North America, especially in eastern Canada, often in old gardens or as garden escapees. ''Lycoctonum'' is a rendering in modern Latin of the traditional name "wolf's-bane". ''Aconitum lycoctonum'''s name was given by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, who found ''A. lycotonum'' growing in Lapland, Finland in 1727. High morphological variability has been described across specimens of ''A. lycoctonum'', however molecular studies showed small genetic distances between populations, and thus ''A. lycoctonum'' describes a species complex containing multiple taxa of uncertain taxonomic rank. It is an

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

growing to 1 m tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are

palmately The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

lobed with four to six deeply cut lobes. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are 18–25 mm long, dark violet, rarely pale yellow.Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. ''Aconitum'' flowers are five-petaled, zygomorphic, and protandrous. The posterior petal resembles a helmet, hiding two nectaries. In ''A. lycoctonum'', the nectary tips are long and highly curled, conducive to specialized pollination. There are multiple stamens. The ovary is made up of usually three, but up to five free carpels. The fruit are follicles. The herb's inflorescence is a raceme, with maturation occurring from bottom to top. Specimens found in high elevations tend to have more flowers-per-inflorescence and more inflorescences-per-plant than those found in low elevations. ''Aconitum'' is bumblebee-pollinated (genus ''

Bombus A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

''). ''A. lycoctonum'' is mainly pollinated by ''

Bombus hortorum ''Bombus hortorum'', the garden bumblebee or small garden bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee found in most of Europe north to 70°N, as well as parts of Asia and New Zealand. It is distinguished from most other bumblebees by its long tongue ...

'' in the lowlands and '' Bombus gerstaeckeri'' in the highlands, both species being long-tongued bumblebees which are able to reach the nectar at the end of the nectaries. The flower's nectar also attract other insects, including flies, and short-tongued bumblebees such as '' Bombus wurflenii'', which act as nectar robbers but may also occasionally pollinate. Like all species in the genus, it is

poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

ous. All parts of the plant contain a multitude of

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, 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 varie ...

s. These alkaloids act primarily on the muscular endplates. Alkaloids gigactonine, demethylenedelcorine, 14-O-methyldelphinifoline, and pseudokobusine, lycoctonine, lycaconitine, and myoctonine have been isolated from roots and seeds of ''A. lycoctonum.'' Gigactonine was found to be the main alkaloid in the flowers, along with 6-Oacetyldemethylenedelcorine (1) and 6-O-acetyl-14-O-methyldelphinifoline, 14- O-methyldelphinifoline, and lycoctonine. The toxicity of alkaloids in ''A. lycoctonum'' are much lower than that of ''A. napellus.'' Indeed, ''A. lycoctonum'' also does not possess the main alkaloid of ''A. napellus,'' aconitine, and while ''A. napellus'' was used for its antipyretic and analgesic properties until recent times, the medical use of ''A. lycoctonum'' seems to have become obsolete far earlier, it mention limited to ancient texts.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158040 lycoctonum Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus