Probably there is not a single grower who would not be familiar with this beautiful tall plant. The leaves of aconite are dark green in color, very elegant, can be lobed or palmately dissected. The flower stalks of aconite are elongated and end at an altitude of about two meters with beautiful racemose inflorescences, which consist of very unusual flowers painted in cold shades. These flowers are reminiscent of the helmets of warriors of ancient civilizations.
It is believed that the name "aconite" comes from the name of the ancient Greek city of Acon. They say that it was there that they began to use it for the first time to prepare medicines from the poison contained in the plant. According to another version, the aconite plant, so popular in the Middle Ages, got its name from the ancient Greek word for "arrow".
Aconite is a poisonous plant, and this has been known for a long time. After all, even in ancient times, people smeared arrows with his juice, going hunting. And in Europe and the Middle East, large predators, for example, wolves, were fed meat poisoned with aconite. In ancient Rome, prisoners sentenced to death were forced to drink a drink with an aconite extract. There is a well-known historical reference that once the soldiers of Mark Anthony ate the rhizomes of aconite and, dying, then suffered in terrible convulsions.
Aconite - the plant is really very poisonous, like many other representatives of the buttercup family. Confirmation of this fact are also the popular names of this plant, namely: wolf root, death-grass, wolfworm and others. In the ancient Greek myth of the eleventh feat of Hercules, he tells how he conquered the terrible dog Cerberus, who guarded the underground kingdom of the dead, and delivered him to Mycenae. When Cerberus saw the white light, it was covered with cold sweat, and foam fell from his mouth, which immediately turned into a deadly aconite.
In ancient Greece, aconite napellus was dedicated to the goddess of witchcraft, Hekate. The legendary sorceress Medea used aconite in all her magic potions. The action of aconite poison is so great that even honey collected by bees from this flower is extremely dangerous.
To date, aconite, whose flower is very rarely used in medicine because of its increased danger, is almost forgotten. But throughout the history of healing, aconite has been actively used to treat various diseases. With the help of various infusions and decoctions of aconite, neuralgia, laryngitis, trauma, a wide variety of skin diseases were treated. In the Middle East, aconite was used as an antipyretic and as a medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Aconite helped with cramps, as well as a painkiller.
There are more than 300 species of this plant, distributed mainly in the northern hemisphere of the planet. In our latitudes, there are about 50 species, many of which are used for decorative purposes.
It should be noted that aconite is a frost-resistant plant and easily tolerates winter with little shelter or even without shelter. Aconite loves moderate humidity, does not require an abundance of sunlight. The soil for this plant must be rich in nutrients and well structured.
There are several ways to propagate aconites. So, these plants are propagated by seeds, tubers, using cuttings. Thanks to the particularization, the bush is often divided naturally.
This plant can be used both in group plantings, and in single. Flower garden owners often combine aconites with dolphiniums, irises. Curly aconite is a very attractive plant that looks great when decorating gratings.