Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aconitum uncinatum
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Appalachian Blue Monkshood from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aconitum uncinatum ssp. uncinatum
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Aconitum uncinatum
INCLUDING PLANTS National Database
Aconitum uncinatum ssp. muticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-04-001:
Aconitum uncinatum FAMILY Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aconitum uncinatum
COMMON NAME:
Appalachian Blue Monkshood, Eastern Blue Monkshood
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm090425_034
April Pickens County SC
Nine Times Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm060521_035
May Macon County NC
Highlands Biological Station
)
JK Marlow jkm060521_194
May Macon County NC
Highlands Biological Station
)
JK Marlow jkm160727_408
July Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm190719_9951
July Transylvania County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
Leaves deeply cleft into 3-5 irregularly lobed segments, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
COMPARE
leaves of Geranium, Larkspur and Monkshood
)
Kevin Adams kcaaconitumuncinatum_23
August Guilford County NC
Upper sepal (called the helmet in this genus) is enlarged into a hood ~3/4", per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_a_uncinatum
September
The hood conceals the 2 small petals, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm071011_010
October Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
)
JK Marlow jkm221103_0574
November Pickens County SC
Nine Times Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm221103_0579
November Pickens County SC
Nine Times Preserve
Follicles sparsely pubescent to glabrate, 8-12mm long, 5-6mm broad; pedicles short hirsute, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Aconitum uncinatum
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Aconitum uncinatum ssp. uncinatum
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Aconitum uncinatum
INCLUDING
PLANTS National Database
Aconitum uncinatum ssp. muticum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-04-001:
Aconitum uncinatum
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Aconitum uncinatum
22
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: seepages, saturated swamps, cove forests, other moist forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in NC Mountains & NC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Blue
Bilaterally symmetrical
5 unequal sepals
2 petals
Numerous stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Aggregate of follicles
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p126
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p139
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p068
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p416
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p072
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p300
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p031
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p053
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p043
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".
Or try alternate spellings: If "wooly" doesn't work, try "woolly" or just "wool".