Monkshood / Wolfsbane
Monkshood plant USUAL WARNING: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME, OR ANYWHERE ELSE. THESE ARE NOT RECREATIONAL DRUGS, THESE ARE TOXIC PLANTS FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY AND NEED TO BE TREATED WITH THE UTMOST REPECT. This month we are returning to our core theme of toxic plants. Regular readers will remember that that the purpose of this blog is to explore the medicinal uses of certain toxic herbs, sometimes known as “witches’ herbs”, with particular reference to their potential use as anaesthetics, in the event that chemically based anaesthetics become unavailable or in short supply - as was the case, for example, during World Wars 1 and 2 when Britain was subject to a German U-boat blockade. So today we are looking at monkshood, also known as aconite or wolfsbane, latin name Aconitum napellus . The plant is so named because the flowers look a little like a medieval monk’s hood, and because extracts of the plant were used to prepare poisoned arrows for hunting wild animals. Monkshood flower Mo