Aconitum columbianum

Aconitum columbianum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names Columbian monkshood or western monkshood.

Aconitum columbianum
Aconitum columbianum in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Aconitum
Species:
A. columbianum
Binomial name
Aconitum columbianum
Synonyms

Aconitum geranioides
Aconitum leibergii

This wildflower is native to western North America where it grows in riparian and other moist areas, in meadows and coniferous forests.[1] It is found from 600–2,900 metres (2,000–9,500 ft) in elevation.[2]

Description

Aconitum columbianum is a tall spindly erect to scandent forb which is perennial from rhizomes. It has lobed or toothed leaves and long stems with far-spaced flowers. It has fleshy, spindle shaped roots (fusiform).[3]

Seeds

The folded, wrinkly flowers are often deep blue or purple, but may also be white or yellowish, and they usually have a spur. The fruits are pod-like follicles.

Like other monkshoods (Aconitum species), this plant is poisonous to humans and livestock, although some species have been used to make drugs.[4]

Subspecies

Subspecies and varieties include:[5]

  • Aconitum columbianum ssp. columbianum [6]
  • Aconitum columbianum var. howellii — Howell's monkshood [7]
  • Aconitum columbianum ssp. viviparum [8]

Habitat

In 2016 NatureServe evaluated Aconitum columbianum as globally secure (G5). In addition it is evaluated by them as vulnerable at the state level (S3) in Wyoming.[9]

Cultivation

Western monkshood is occasionally grown in gardens for its dramatic dark purple-blue blossoms. It requires a moist and rich soil as well as shade in all but the gentlest of climates.[3]

References
  1. USDA . accessed 7.23.2013
  2. Jepson . accessed 7.23.2013
  3. Barr, Claude A. (1983). Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-8166-1127-0.
  4. Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 598. ISBN 0-394-73127-1.
  5. CalFlora: Aconitum columbianum
  6. CalFlora: Aconitum columbianum ssp. columbianum
  7. Calflora: Aconitum columbianum var. howellii
  8. CalFlora: Aconitum columbianum ssp. viviparum
  9. NatureServe (2023). "Aconitum columbianum Columbian Monkshood". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
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