Monkshood, the Killer Plant

Monkshood, the queen of poisons, is known by many names: wolfsbane, aconite, leopard’s bane, women’s bane, devil’s helmet, blue rocket, and friar’s cap. Her beauty is astounding, but her flowers of white, cream, yellow, blue, or purple are deadly.

Aconite napellus, wikipedia

The Plant and its Poison
Each part of this gorgeous flower, especially the leaves and roots, contain the poisons aconitine and aconine. Whether it is ingested or absorbed through the skin, the effects of this poison are felt immediately. The taste of the plant is bitter, so a person would not willingly ingest it. Once ingested, the tongue, throat, and face will immediately feel a mixture of burning, tingling, and numbness. This is only the beginning of what must be a truly horrendous way to die.

The numbness slowly spreads over the entire body. Nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, and dimmed and/or blurred vision, are some of the other things that are felt by one who has been dosed with monkshood. At the end there is severe pain and paralysis of the facial muscles, then death comes with respiratory failure or paralysis of the heart. The unfortunate individual who has ingested this poison often remains conscious until the end.

Monkshood or Wolfsbane, www.geograph.org.uk

There is an amount that can be ingested or absorbed that isn’t fatal, but I have no clue how small of an amount that is. I’m not willing to try any just to see. There isn’t any specific antidote, but recovery for the person who doesn’t take in a fatal amount is around twenty-four hours. If a fatal amount is ingested or absorbed, death will occur anywhere from ten minutes to a few hours.

Common monkshood grows wild throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and east of the Himalayas. The part of the United States you live in decides which variety of monkshood you will find.

The young flowers are the most poisonous. Even holding them in your hands for too long a period of time can cause illness.

Monkshood Down Through History
Throughout time, the poison of this flower has been used in many different ways. In ancient Europe and Asia, they would poison the water supply of their enemy.

Hunters would use its sap to poison their spears and arrowheads. They would also poison the bait in a trap with it.

Western monkshood, wikimedia commons

It came to be known as wolfsbane because it was used for killing panthers, wolves, and other carnivores.

The name monkshood was given to the flower because of its cowl-like shape. Even so, during the Middle Ages, it was associated with witchcraft.

In folk medicine, it has been used as an external painkiller. I still wouldn’t want to risk it. I think I would rather be in pain.

And it has been used for murder. One instance of this happened in 1881. An English physician used it to kill his brother-in-law. Apparently, Dr. Lamson’s brother-in-law didn’t trust him very much. When the unfortunate man complained of a headache, he wouldn’t accept the pills the doctor offered him. But he ate a slice of cake the doctor served him. The poison was in the cake. Dr. Lamson committed this crime to help his sister, ,the man’s wife, receive an inheritance.

Northern monkshood, wikimedia commons

Monkshood in Fiction
Forms of monkshood have been used in Greek mythology, Shakespeare, the Harry Potter series, and many more books. Two of the television shows it has been used in are Merlin and Dexter.

How would you use it in fiction? You could write a story that takes place in ancient Europe or Asia. Instead of a hunter poisoning their spears and arrowheads to hunt animals with, your hunter could poison them to hunt people who he feels has wronged him. Even better, make it a female.

Write a story about why it was associated with witchcraft and tell how the witches were supposed to have used it.

Apparently monkshood relieves external pain. An extra-large dose of the poison from it could be mixed into a pain-killing cream. Not only would it relieve the pain, but the one who used it would never feel pain again.

Monkshood, pixabay

Write a story about why Dr. Lamson killed his brother-in-law. Surely he wouldn’t have done it just so his sister could have all that money. Was she going to pay him? Was she supposed to split it with him? Or did he perhaps have plans to do away with his sister and enjoy all of the money himself?

Who would be the least suspected person to use monkshood to poison someone? A priest? A little old lady? Someone who doesn’t like plants? Write a story where the poisoner, someone who uses monkhood, is someone that no one would ever suspect.

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