Aconitum uncinatum
Aconitum uncinatum
blue monkshood
- Plant type and subtype:
- Perennials
- Hardiness Zone:
- 6,
- 7
- Light Requirements:
- part-shade,
- part-sun,
- sun
- Height: 2'-5'
- Leaf Color:
- green
- Bloom Color:
- blue,
- purple,
- violet
- Bloom Time:
- Jun,
- Jul,
- Aug,
- Sep
- Water Use:
- medium,
- high
- Soil Moisture:
- moist,
- wet
- Soil Description:
- rich,
- loam,
- clay
- Additional Tags:
- medicinal,
- poisonous,
- pond margin plant,
- stream margin plant
- Description:
Resembling a vine in habit, Aconitum uncinatum sends up several slender arching stems to 5’ or more in length that like to lean on other plants for support. Beautiful, unusual violet-ultramarine blue flowers resemble an ornate hood and are about 1” across; leaves are thick, deep green and cut into 3-5 lobes.
- Cultivation:
Monkshood make an attractive addition to woodland gardens, pond and stream margins. It thrives in deep, fertile moist soil. It may be planted in full sun, but prefers a sheltered or part shade location, specially where summers are hot and dry. Bloom time extends from June to September. Zones 6-7
- Propagation:
May be propagated from seed, or by division after the leaves die back in the fall.
- Additional Notes:
The southern blue monkshood is endangered or threatened in much of its native range. The Aconitum genus is part of the buttercup family and consists of about 100 species of perennials found throughout temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Plants from this genus are poisonous and have been used in pharmaceutical research. They have yielded drugs used in the treatment of neuralgia and sciatica.
Map of Native Range
- Range by State: USDA data
- Recorded County Distribution: USDA data
*The map of native range is based on the latest available USDA data.
There may be gaps in the county level distribution.
AL, DC, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, MO, NC, NH, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV
Classification
| Kingdom: | Plantae | Plants |
| Subkingdom: | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants |
| Superdivision: | Spermatophyta | Seed plants |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons |
| Subclass: | Magnoliidae | |
| Order: | Ranunculales | |
| Family: | Ranunculaceae | Buttercup family |
| Genus: | Aconitum | monkshood |
| Species: | Aconitum uncinatum | blue monkshood |
| Synonyms: | southern blue monkshood, monk's hood, monkshood |
USDA Endangered Status
| N/A |
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