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The Dangerous Plant You Don't Want To Get Too Close To
In The Garden
By WILL FORD
Monkshood, also known as wolfsbane, is a gorgeous but highly poisonous plant easily mistaken for harmless look-alikes, a close encounter with which can have serious consequences.
The plant is highly toxic, as all its parts contain aconitine, a potent neurotoxin that affects the nervous system. A close encounter with it can cause severe symptoms.
It may give you numbness, tingling, burning sensations in the mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. At worst, it can lead to paralysis, respiratory failure, and death.
Monkshood has tall, erect stems up to six feet high and dark green, deeply divided, palmate leaves. Its flowers have
a hood-like shape that gives the plant its name.
The flowers come in blue, purple, white, or yellow, blooming in clusters at
the top of the stems.
Typically found in cool, mountainous regions, monkshoods thrive in moist soil.