MONKSUOOD.

13:377 * *

n 0 ii* C °f Vet. p. xiii. 1788). Dioscorides (lib. iv. cap. 77 and 78) has^ e u two kinds of aKovtrov.

"ith TANY ' ® en - Char. — Calyx pctaloid, irregular, deciduous or(n ect Gri . n S > upper sepal concave, helmet-shaped. Petals two, superiorti ea . 1 ai ! es )i on long stalks, expanded at the apex into a hag hidden be-gp p e helmet (D. C.)

ci r „ j y H AR.—Flowers densely spiked or loosely pauicled. Helmet semi-Spur T’ lare '- v boat-shaped. Bag of the petals somewhat conical.Ce nt S * lor b thick, inclined. Wings of the stamens cuspidate or evanes-sm ' Lobes of the leaves cuneate pinnatisect. Ovaries three, rarely live,p 0th or pilose (D. C.)

n frennial herb. Root tapering. Stem simple. Flowers blue.—Thisorrpnt variation in the dense or loose condition of the

St . --..uuiu nero. ixooi lapemig.iafl CleS * s su bject to great variation in

JS su Oject to great variauon m LUG v ivu-jv -- _flo\v e j SC t nce ’ the form of the helmet, the colour and size of thert( !Ss ’ toe breadth and the number of slashes of the leaves, the downi-d°i le '! ,,^10 parts of the plant, and the condition of the stem. Decan-lij' r ° f ^ r ' b b~) a dmits no less than twenty-nine varieties.

^ (,u btf u urope. It is placed among indigenous plants, but it is a

I'be r, ...

s l>eci es . , College has adopted Aconitum paniculatum Decatidolle, as the officinal

T|, e j ana direct the leaves (folia ) to be used.r ° ot {ro_il\° n College lias followed the Dublin College , except that they direct the

I conP as Hc ’h as the leaves {folia) to he employed.j 1 * c «trovself uuacquainted with any just grounds for this preference. The% etb a pellus is one of the most active species of the genus, atid no good evidenceHie], g. ee . u adduced to prove its inferiority to the A. paniculatum,, var. y. Storkianum,9re 'lot r P. u Wished as A. Napellus officinalis. Moreover, the roots of A. paniculatum

>, in commerce, nor is the plant grown (except in botanical gardens) in this

tli e j ’ s ? ^ lat druggists and apothecaries cannot, if they would, obey the directious^ adon and Dublin Colleges.

—Aconite root ( radix aconiti ), when fresh, consists of a°f u u ® r °otstock, placed perpendicularly, or nearly so, in the earth, andflii C ]j e er °us, cylindrical, fleshy fibres arising from it. At its upper and•hferioju l\ ar b the rootstock seldom exceeds the thickness of the finger;a te CQ A.d' s attenuated and filiform. Sometimes two or three rootstocksIt s t0ta j7 e d. In tlie latter case the root has a palmated appearance.°f U le ien gth is three or four or more inches. Its colour, as well as that"bite j C s ’ I s ex ternally coffee brown; its odour is earthy. Internally it isJbl e n “ fleshy. Its taste is bitter ; but after a few minutes a remark-fly dr v - ness an( I tingling is perceived on the lips, tongue, and fauces.? <0 dl(] k”’ root shrivels, and becomes darker coloured. The root*<tve s 1 j? gathered in the spring, just before the leaves appear. The1'e s aconiti), when chewed, have the same taste, and produce

Cojjj, 6 deling of numbness.

°I 4co»‘/ S1TlON ’—-^° complete analysis either of the root or the leavesgriffs Um Napellus has been made. The following are the consti-root A- Lycoctonum , according to Pallas ( Journ . deA 7 . 7 _„ 7 . „;j „ fntf,, mutter, a substance hav-

lll e root of A. Lycoctonum, accummg .......... ,—

,v 0)}! e ^- i- 192) :—A black oil, a green fatty matter, a substance hav-a n utla logy with the vegetable alkalies [impure aconitina?], vege-Tl,„ 1 Urn en, starch, lignin, and some salts.

Tl,g l j U “ mew 5 starch, lignin, and some satis.

eaves °I Aconitum medium Schraderi were analyzed by Bucholz

d. Chem. ii. 1241).

Brandes and Peschier announced the existence of a peculiar