Myrddin's Garden
Aconitum Lycoctonum
Aconitum Napellus L.
Amanita Muscaria L.
Artemisia Absinthium L.
Arundo Donax L.
Atropa Belladonna L.
Cestrum Parqui
Cannabis Sativa L.
Claviceps Purpurea L.
Conium Maculatum L.
Datura Stramonium L.
Hyoscyamus Niger L.
Lactuca Virosa L.
Mandragora Officinalis L.
Papaver Somniferum L.
Phalaris Arundinacea L.
Psilocybe Semilanceata
Salvia Divinorum
Scopolia Carniolica
Bufo Vulgaris
Aconitum ssp.
Aconite Species
Aconitum Lycoctonum
Wolfbane
Many Aconite species have worldwide ethnobotanical significance as medicines, psychoactive products, and arrow poisons.
Uses as Medicine
The following species of aconites (chuan wu ton) are used in traditional Chinese medicine and in Japanese kampo medicine:
Aconitum carmichaelii
Aconitum chinense
Aconitum hemsleyanum
Aconitum transsectum
Aconitum lycoctonum
Only the dried rhizomes are used; they lose their potent toxicity during the drying process. In traditional Chinese medicine, aconite roots are characterized as stimulating, cardiotonic, analgesic, narcotic, and locally anesthetic. They stimulate the yang energy and are used for all yang ailments. The dosage lies between 3 and 8 g. The Chinese medicinal drug (fu tzu) has the highest con- centration of alkaloids.
In Japanese kampo medicine, which is based on Chinese herbalism, the roots of the species Aconitum carmichaelii are known as bushi and are used for weak digestion. Pharmacological investigations have determined that the so-called aconitans A, B, C, and D have hypoglycemic effects, i.e., they lower blood sugar levels.
Aconitum Napellus Linnaeus
Monkshood, Blue Rocket
Monkshood is a polymorphous species with many subspecies and cultivated forms; it is regarded as taxonomically complex.
Aconitum napellus ssp. compactum
Aconitum napellus ssp. neomontanum
Aconitum napellus ssp. pyram dale
Aconitum napellus ssp. tauricum
Synonyms
Aconitum compactum (Rchb.) Gayer Aconitum neomontanum Wulfen
Aconitton pyramidale Mill.
Folk Names
Abnehmkraut, aconit, aconite, aconit napel, aconito napello, akonit, akoniton, altweiberkappe, apolloniabraut, apolloniakraut, 16 apolloniawurz, arche noah, blauelsterkraut, blauer akonit, blau-akapppoenl, lbloaunnaitiatzewn,u brluze ,aconite, blue rocket, casque-de-Jupiter (cap of Jupiter), eisenhut, eisenhtitlein, eisenkappe, eliaswagen, eysenhiltlein, fischerkiep, fliegenkraut, franzosenkapp, fuchs- kraut, fuchsschwanz, fuchswurz, giftkraut, goatsbane, goekschl, gra eysenhiltlein, gupfhauben, hamburger minzen, harrgottslotscha, helm, helmblume, herrgottslatsche, herrnhut, heuhtitli, hex, holtschoe, hummelkraut, isenhtibli, jakobsleiter, judenkappe, jungfernschuh, kalessen, kappenblume, kapuzinerchappli, kapuzinerkappe, konigsblume, kutscherblume, marienscheusaken, monchskappe, monchswurz, monkshood, munchskapffen, muttergottesschilhlein, napellus major, narrenkappe, noarnkopp, nonnenhaube, Odins hut, pantoffelchen, pantoffelken, papucha, paterskappe, pfaffenhtitchen, pferdchen, poutsche, ra-dug- gam’dzim-pa (Tibetan), ranunculus montana, reiterkapp, reiter-zu-pferd, rossel, satanskraut, schawwerhaube, schlotfegerskappen, schneppe- kapp, steinkraut, sturmhut, tauben, taubenschnabel, teufelswurz, thora quasi phtora interitus (Latin, “doom”), totenblume, trollhat (Nordic, “troll’s cap”), tilbeli, tuifelkappe, venuskutschen, venuswagelchen, venuswagen, wolfgift, wolfkraut, wolfskraut, wolfswurz, wiirgling, ziegentod.
Appearance
This perennial herbaceous plant can grow as tall as 150 cm. The palmate leaves are deeply divided into five to seven lobes. The luxuriant, dark blue,
helmet-shaped flowers form at the end of the stalk (terminal racemes). The sepal has the exact shape of a bumblebee, and this insect is also the plant’s
most important (and perhaps even its only) pollinator. The follicular fruits contain multiple seeds. The blooming period is from June to August. The plant develops a new tuberous root each year, while the root from the previous year dies.
Distribution
Monkshood occurs from Italy to Ireland and from Spain to the Himalayas. It is often found in subalpine zones. It belongs to the typical flora of the Alps and is (still) common in Switzerland..
Cultivation
Monkshood can be propagated by seeds or from separated tubers. Handling fresh root tubers can have dangerous toxic effects! The seeds are either sown in the spring by pressing them directly into the ground or raised in seedbeds. Monkshood prefers nutrient-rich soils and good, humus-rich earth. It also thrives in moist soils.
History
Theophrastus (ca. 370-287 B.c.E.) already provided a very precise description of the plant and its effects and origin.
In ancient times, monkshood, or aconite, was a feared poison associated with the legendary Colchian “witch” Medea (who was probably a Scythian shaman) and the gloomy underworld. Like henbane (Hyoscyamus albus), the plant was said to have sprung from the slaver of Cerberus, the hound of hell, and both plants were known as apollinaris (“Apollo’s plant”).
Another legend states that monkshood rose from the blood of Prometheus, which dripped onto the rocks whenever the eagle came and ate his liver.
Monkshood was an important “battle drug” in Roman politics. Emperor Claudius died in 54 C.E. from aconite poisoning.
Germans may have used the plant in their magical rituals, such as when the Berserkers were transformed into wolves. In the fourteenth century, Konrad von Megenberg described monkshood and its poisonous effects in his Buch der Natur [Book of Nature]. Monkshood was and still is regarded as the most poisonous and most dangerous plant in Europe.
Medicinal Use
Because it has long been feared as a potent poison, monkshood never attained any great significance in folk medicine. In Western phytotherapy, tinctures of monkshood are used externally to ease the pains of gout, sciatica, and neuralgia and to treat feverish colds in their onset. They are less frequently used internally.
In homeopathy, Aconitum napellus hom. is used in dilutions of D3 and greater in accordance with the medical descriptions to treat nervous and psychic ailments, e.g., as a result of anger, fright, agitation, or neuralgia. Hahnemann had high praise for the agent, for “its powers to help are miraculous”. It is still used for numerous purposes today.
Ritual Use
In ancient times, monkshood was definitely used as a ritual poison:
Bent on his destruction, Medea mixed in a cup a poison, which she had brought long ago from the Scythian shores. This poison, they say, came from the mouth of the Echidnean dog. There is a cavern with a dark, yawning throat and a way down-sloping, along which Hercules, the hero of Tiryns, dragged Cerberus with chains wrought of adamant, while the great dog fought and turned away his eyes from the bright light of day. He, goaded on to mad frenzy, filled all the air with his threefold howls, and sprinkled the green fields with white foam. Men think that these flecks of foam grew; and, drawing nourishment from the rich, rank soil, they gained power to hurt; and because they spring up and flourish on hard rocks, the country folk call them aconite. (Ovid, Metamorphoses.)
Monkshood was presumably also used in other Scythian preparations and in shamanic-magical rituals, e.g., to transform oneself into a wolf. It may already have been used in antiquity to prepare flying ointments. Since the early modern period, monkshood has been one of the chief ingredients in witches’ ointments. Many of its folk names suggest that the plant was used for both ritual and psychoactive purposes: hut des Jupiter (hat of Jupiter), venuswagen (Venus’s wagon), wolfskraut (wolf’s plant), hut des trolls (hat of the troll), Odins hut (Odin’s hat), hex (witch), et cetera.
Psychoactive Material
Root (tubera aconiti, radix aconiti, aconiti tuber)
Herbage (herba aconiti, aconiti herba)
Corresponding to the plant’s growth cycle, the drug should not be stored and used for periods in excess of one year.
Aconite (Aconitum napellus) is said to have been an important ingredient in witches’ ointments.
Constituents
Most aconite species contain the very toxic aconitine alkaloids as well as the slightly toxic alkamines. Those species that are used for medicinal purposes have higher amounts of alkamines, whereas the species used to produce arrow poisons contain higher amounts of aconitines.
In China, the roots of feng-feng, or the plant Siler divaricatum, were once used as an antidote for aconite poisoning. But it has been said that the root of this plant “produces madness”. Although it has sometimes been claimed that Siler divaricatum is psychoactive, there is no evidence supporting this assertion.
The entire plant contains the alkaloid aconitine (= acetylbenzoylaconine) and aconitine acid. The highest concentrations are in the root, which is thus the most dangerous part of the plant. The root tubers contain large amounts of diterpenoid alkaloids of the so-called aconitine type (0.3-2.0%). The structures of some of these have not yet been determined. Aconitine is the primary alkaloid; mesaconitine, hypaconitine, napelline, and N-diethylaconitine are also present. In some subspecies, the primary alkaloid is mesaconitine. Aconitine is also present in all the other parts of the plant, although typically in only low concentrations. Aconitine has even been detected in the nectaries. As a result, it may be possible to produce a psychoactive honey from the plant.
Preparation and Dosage
The dried herbage can be smoked. However, no information is available concerning dosage. People must be cautioned against improper use of this plant. Even harvesting the leaves can cause the active constituents to enter
the body and produce unintentional symptoms of poisoning. As little as 3 to 6 mg of aconitine, which often corresponds to only a few grams of dried or even fresh plant material, can be lethal for adults. Ingested orally, as little as 0.2 mg of aconitine can produce toxic symptoms. Tinctures were formerly used to treat migraine headaches and neuralgia. Up to five drops per day were ingested.
The roots were purportedly used in the manufacture of witches’ ointments. They were also added to wine (cf. Vitis vinifera), which was drunk both for healing and for inebriating purposes.
Although the plant is considered extremely toxic, children in Iceland have been reported to eat the flowers because of their honeylike sweetness.
Effects
When applied to the skin, monkshood is said to provoke sensations of tingling and hallucinations. Because of this, monkshood was purported to have been an important ingredient in witches’ ointments. It is said to produce the sensation of wearing a garment made of fur or feathers. In the Rhineland, it is said that “simply smelling the plant will make the nose swell up”. Monkshood has a strong stimulating or inebriating effect upon horses. They become “foamy,” that is, fiery; for this reason, horse dealers at one time fed their animals monkshood before offering them for sale.
The description of the course of effects of monkshood poisoning is not exactly enticing: “The longer the time that the alkaloid and the drug are in contact with the mouth, the more pronounced will the local, sensory nerve effects in the mouth and throat be observable following acute aconitine or aconite poisoning. The tingling and burning may be followed by a loss of speech and a sensation of paralysis in the tongue and in the area around the mouth, so that speaking becomes difficult. When absorbed, feelings of tingling and formication [the sensation of being crawled upon by insects] in the fingers, hands, and feet very characteristically soon appear, sometimes with twitching of the face, followed by paralysis of the facial muscles. The person who has been poisoned is also disturbed by an unbearable sensation of coldness (the feeling of ‘ice water in the veins’) with hypothermia, caused by stimulation of the cold centers. This is followed by numbness, symptoms of paralysis in the arms and legs, and difficulties in breathing. Seeing green, dizziness, buzzing in the ears, and trigeminal pain have also been observed. Nausea and vomiting can occur, but can also be absent, as can diarrhea and increased urination. Respiratory difficulties and especially peculiar heart disturbances . . . can result in loss of consciousness and death due to heart or breathing problems. But consciousness may also be retained until death, which under these circumstances can occur within in the first hour”.
