Аконит – гүлдi өсiмдер туқымдасы және түрлерi

Genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Aconitum (,/æ//k//ə/'/n//aɪ//t//əm/), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, leopard's bane, devil's helmet, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. These herbaceous perennial plants are chiefly native to the mountainous parts of the Northern Hemisphere in North America, Europe, and Asia, growing in the moisture retentive but well draining soils of mountain meadows. Most Aconitum species are extremely poisonous and must be handled very carefully. Several Aconitum hybrids, such as the Arendsii form of Aconitum carmichaelii, have won gardening awards—such as the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Some are used by florists.

The name aconitum comes from the Greek word [[wikt:ἀκόνιτον, which may derive from the Greek akon for dart or javelin, the tips of which were poisoned with the substance, or from akonae, because of the rocky ground on which the plant was thought to grow. The Greek name lycoctonum, which translates literally to "wolf's bane", is thought to indicate the use of its juice to poison arrows or baits used to kill wolves. The English name monkshood refers to the cylindrical helmet, called the galea, distinguishing the flower. while Wolf's Bane (Aconitum vulparia) produces whitish or straw yellow flowers.

The lack of double flowered forms in the horticultural trade stands in contrast with the other genera of Ranunculaceae used regularly in gardens. This includes one major genus that is known solely by most gardeners for a double flowered form of one species—Ranunculus asiaticus, known colloquially in the trade as "Ranunculus". The Ranunculus genus contains approximately 500 species. One other species of Ranunculus has seen minor use in gardens, the 'Flore Pleno' (doubled) form of Ranunculus acris. Doubled forms of Consolida and Delphinium dominate the horticultural trade while single forms of Anemone, Aquilegia, Clematis, Helleborus, Pulsatilla—and the related Papaver—retain some popularity. No doubled forms of Aconitum are known.

Aconitum species have been recorded as food plant of the caterpillars of several moths. The yellow tiger moth Arctia flavia, and the purple shaded gem Euchalcia variabilis are at home on A. vulparia. The engrailed Ectropis crepuscularia, yellow tail Euproctis similis, mouse moth Amphipyra tragopoginis, pease blossom Periphanes delphinii, and Mniotype bathensis, have been observed feeding on A. napellus. The purple lined sallow Pyrrhia exprimens, and Blepharita amica were found eating from A. septentrionale. The dot moth Melanchra persicariae occurs both on A. septentrionale and A. intermedium. The golden plusia Polychrysia moneta is hosted by A. vulparia, A. napellus, A. septentrionale, and A. intermedium. Other moths associated with Aconitum species include the wormwood pug Eupithecia absinthiata, satyr pug E. satyrata, Aterpia charpentierana, and A. corticana. It is also the primary food source for the Old World bumblebees Bombus consobrinus and Bombus gerstaeckeri. Aconitum flowers are pollinated by long tongued bumblebees. Bumblebees have the strength to open the flowers and reach the single nectary at the top of the flower on its inside. Unlike the species with blue purple flowers such as A. napellus, A. lycoctonum—which has off white to pale yellow flowers, has been found to be a nectar source for butterflies. A. carmichaelii 'Arendsii'
A. carmichaelii 'Kelmscott'
A. 'Bressingham Spire'
A. 'Spark's Variety'
A. 'Stainless Steel'

Monkshood and other members of the genus Aconitum contain substantial amounts of the highly toxic aconitine and related alkaloids, especially in their roots and tubers. The initial signs are gastrointestinal, including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. This is followed by a sensation of burning, tingling, and numbness in the mouth and face, and of burning in the abdomen. The only post mortem signs are those of asphyxia. The major physiological antidote is atropine, which is used to treat bradycardia. Other drugs used for ventricular arrhythmia include lidocaine, amiodarone, bretylium, flecainide, procainamide, and mexiletine. Cardiopulmonary bypass is used if symptoms are refractory to treatment with these drugs. Mild toxicity (headache, nausea and palpitations) as well as severe toxicity may be experienced from skin contact. Paraesthesia, including tingling and feelings of coldness in the face and extremities, is common in reports of toxicity.

Aconite was described in Greek and Roman folk medicine by Theophrastus, Dioscorides, and Pliny the Elder, Folk medicinal use of Aconitum species is practiced in some parts of Slovenia. Aconitum chasmanthum is listed as critically endangered, Aconitum heterophyllum as endangered, and Aconitum violaceum as vulnerable due to overcollection for use as an herbal medicine. A producer of Yunnan Baiyao, a traditional Chinese medicine remedy, has disclosed the remedy contains aconite.

The roots of A. ferox supply the Nepalese poison called bikh, bish, or nabee. It contains large quantities of the alkaloid pseudaconitine, which is a deadly poison. The root of A. luridum, of the Himalaya, is said to be as poisonous as that of A. ferox or A. napellus. as did the Matagi hunters of the same region before their adoption of firearms. The Chinese also used Aconitum poisons both for hunting and for warfare. Aconitum poisons were used by the Aleuts of Alaska's Aleutian Islands for hunting whales. Usually, one man in a kayak armed with a poison tipped lance would hunt the whale, paralyzing
it with the poison and causing it to drown. Aconitum tipped arrows are also described in the Rig Veda. It has, albeit rarely, been hypothesized that Socrates was executed via an extract from an Aconitum species, such as Aconitum napellus, rather than via hemlock, Conium maculatum. Aconitum was commonly used by the ancient Greeks as an arrow poison but can be used for other forms of poisoning. It has been hypothesized that Alexander the Great and Ptolemy XIV Philopator were murdered via aconite. In 1524, in the first recorded human trial of poison since the ancient Greeks, Pope Clement VII is said to have intentionally poisoned prisoners with aconite laced marzipan to test the effects of an antidote. The treated prisoner survived, while the untreated prisoner suffered a painful death. In April 2021, the president of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, promoted aconite root as a treatment for COVID 19. Subsequently, at least four people were admitted to hospital suffering from poisoning. Facebook had previously removed the President's posts advocating use of the substance, saying "We've removed this post as we do not allow anyone, including elected officials, to share misinformation that could lead to imminent physical harm or spread false claims about how to cure or prevent COVID 19".

Genetic analysis suggests that Aconitum as it was delineated before the 21st century is nested within Delphinium sensu lato, that also includes Aconitella, Consolida, Delphinium staphisagria, D. requini, and D. pictum.

Aconite has been understood as a poison from ancient times, and is frequently represented as such in fiction. In Greek mythology, the goddess Hecate is said to have invented aconite, which Athena used to transform Arachne into a spider. Also, Medea attempted to poison Theseus with a cup of wine poisoned with wolf's bane. The kyōgen (traditional Japanese comedy) play (附子), which is well known and frequently taught in Japan, is centered on dried aconite root used for traditional Chinese medicine. Taken from Shasekishu, a 13th century anthology collected by Mujū, the story describes servants who decide that the dried aconite root is really sugar, and suffer unpleasant though nonlethal symptoms after eating it. Shakespeare, in Henry IV Part II Act 4 Scene 4, refers to aconite, alongside rash gunpowder, working as strongly as the "venom of suggestion" to break up close relationships. In BBC drama Shakespeare and Hatherway, series 2, episode 9, a tennis player is poisoned through the skin of his palm by aconite smeared on the handle of his racquet. As a well known poison from ancient times, aconite is well suited for historical fiction. It is the poison used by a murderer in the third of the Cadfael Chronicles, Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters, published in 1980 and set in 1138 in Shrewsbury. In I, Claudius, Livia, wife of Augustus, was portrayed discussing the merits, antidotes, and use of aconite with a poisoner. It also makes a showing in alternate history novels and historical fantasy, such as S. M. Stirling's, On the Oceans of Eternity, where a renegade warlord is poisoned with aconite laced food by his own chief of internal security, and in the television show Merlin, the lead character, Merlin, attempts to poison Arthur with aconite while under a spell. In the 2003 Korean television series Dae Jang Geum, set in the 15th and 16th centuries, Choi put wolf's bane in the previous queen's food. In Forever (2014 TV series) Dr. Henry Morgan identifies the plants in the villain's greenhouse as specifically Aconitum variegatum, which he has used to create a poison to release into the ventilation system of Grand Central Terminal. Aconite also lends itself to use as a fictional poison in modern settings. An overdose of aconite was the method by which Rudolph Bloom, father of Leopold Bloom in James Joyce's Ulysses, committed suicide.

In his mythological poem Metamorphoses, Ovid tells how the herb comes from the slavering mouth of Cerberus, the three headed dog that guarded the gates of Hades. In his Natural History, Pliny the Elder supports the legend that aconite came from the saliva of the dog Cerberus when Hercules dragged him from the underworld. As the veterinary historian John Blaisdell has noted, symptoms of aconite poisoning in humans bear some passing similarity to those of rabies: frothy saliva, impaired vision, vertigo, and finally a coma. Thus, some ancient Greeks possibly would have believed that this poison, mythically born of Cerberus's lips, was literally the same as that to be found inside the mouth of a rabid dog. In John Keats's poem Ode to Melancholy, wolf's bane is mentioned in the first verse as the source of "poisonous wine", possibly referring to Medea. In the 1931 classic horror film Dracula starring Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula and Helen Chandler as Mina Seward, reference is made to wolf's bane (aconitum). Towards the end of the film, "Van Helsing holds up a sprig of wolf's bane". Van Helsing educates the nurse protecting Mina from Count Dracula to place sprigs of wolf's bane around Mina's neck for protection. Furthermore, he instructs that wolf's bane is a plant that grows in Central Europe. There, the natives use it to protect themselves against vampires. As long as the wolf's bane is present in Mina's bedroom, she will be safe from Count Dracula. During the night, Count Dracula desires to visit Mina. He appears outside her window in the form of a flying bat. He causes the nurse to become drowsy, and when she awakes from his spell, she removes the sprigs of wolf's bane, placing it in a hallway chest of drawers. With the removal of the wolf's bane from Mina's room, Count Dracula mysteriously appears and transports Mina to the dungeon of the castle. In the 1941 film The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney Jr. and Claude Rains, the following poem is recited several times Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolf bane blooms and the autumn moon is bright. In the 1943 French novel Our Lady of the Flowers, the boy Culafroy eats "Napel aconite", so that the "Renaissance would take possession of the child through the mouth." In the TV show Game of Thrones, one of Tywin Lannister's commanders is assassinated by a dart, identified by Tywin as Wolf's Bane, due to its scent. In the early 1980s, famed Spanish horror film star Paul Naschy named his production company "Aconito Films", an in joke relating to the large number of werewolf movies he produced.

Wolf's bane is used as an analogy for the power of divine communion in Liber 65 1:13–16, one of Aleister Crowley's Holy Books of Thelema. Wolf's bane is mentioned in one verse of Lady Gwen Thompson's 1974 poem "Rede of the Wiccae", a long version of the Wiccan Rede: "Widdershins go when Moon doth wane, And the werewolves howl by the dread wolfsbane."