Aconitum lycoctonum subsp. moldavicum (Hacq.) Jalas

Taxonomic Classification

Aconitum lycoctonum, commonly called wolf's-bane or northern wolf's-bane, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aconitum, family Ranunculaceae.

Native Distribution and Habitat

It is native to much of Europe and northern Asia, where it grows from lowlands to the subalpine zone, mainly in forests and other shaded habitats.

Along with A. napellus, A. lycoctonum is one of the most common European species of the Aconitum genus.

Cultivation

It is grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, where it grows well in ordinary garden soil.

Introduced Range

Because of this cultivation, A. lycoctonum can now be found in North America, especially in eastern Canada, most often in old gardens or as an escaped garden plant.

Etymology

The species epithet lycoctonum is a modern Latin rendering of the traditional name "wolf's-bane".

Naming History

Carl Linnaeus gave Aconitum lycoctonum its scientific name, after he found the species growing in Lapland, Finland in 1727.

Taxonomic Status

A. lycoctonum specimens have been described as having high morphological variability, but molecular studies have found small genetic distances between populations.

For this reason, A. lycoctonum is treated as a species complex that contains multiple taxa of uncertain taxonomic rank.

Growth Habit

It is an herbaceous perennial plant that grows to 1 m tall.

Leaf Structure

Its leaves are palmately lobed, with four to six deeply cut lobes.

Flower Characteristics

Its flowers measure 18–25 mm long, and are most often dark violet, rarely pale yellow.

All Aconitum flowers are five-petaled, zygomorphic, and protandrous.

Flower Morphology

The posterior petal of an Aconitum flower has a helmet-like shape that hides two nectaries.

In A. lycoctonum, the tips of these nectaries are long and highly curled, an adaptation that supports specialized pollination.

Reproductive Structures

The plant has multiple stamens.

Its ovary is usually made up of three free carpels, but can have as many as five.

Fruit Type

Its fruits are follicles.

Inflorescence Structure

The plant's inflorescence is a raceme, with flower maturation proceeding from bottom to top.

Specimens growing at high elevations tend to produce more flowers per inflorescence and more inflorescences per plant than specimens growing at low elevations.

Pollinator Range

All Aconitum are pollinated by bumblebees of the genus Bombus.

Primary Pollinators

A. lycoctonum is mainly pollinated by Bombus hortorum in lowlands and Bombus gerstaeckeri in highlands; both are long-tongued bumblebee species able to reach nectar at the end of the plant's nectaries.

Secondary Insect Visitors

The flower's nectar also attracts other insects, including flies and short-tongued bumblebees such as Bombus wurflenii.

These insects act as nectar robbers, but may also occasionally pollinate the plant.

Toxicity Status

Like all species in the Aconitum genus, this plant is poisonous.

All parts of the plant contain a wide range of alkaloids, which act primarily on muscular endplates.

Root and Seed Alkaloids

Alkaloids including gigactonine, demethylenedelcorine, 14-O-methyldelphinifoline, pseudokobusine, lycoctonine, lycaconitine, and myoctonine have been isolated from the roots and seeds of A. lycoctonum.

Flower Alkaloids

Gigactonine is the main alkaloid found in the plant's flowers, along with 6-Oacetyldemethylenedelcorine (1), 6-O-acetyl-14-O-methyldelphinifoline, 14-O-methyldelphinifoline, and lycoctonine.

Toxicity Comparison

The alkaloids in A. lycoctonine have much lower toxicity than those found in A. napellus.

A. lycoctonum also does not contain aconitine, the main alkaloid in A. napellus.

Historical Medical Use

While A. napellus was used for its antipyretic and analgesic properties until recent times, the medical use of A. lycoctonum became obsolete far earlier, and it is only mentioned in ancient texts.