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| Northern wild monkshood | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Ranunculaceae |
| Genus: | Aconitum |
| Species: | A. noveboracense
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| Binomial name | |
| Aconitum noveboracense | |
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Aconitum noveboracense, also known as northern blue monkshood or northern wild monkshood, is a flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). Members of its genus (Aconitum) are also known as wolfsbane.
A. noveboracense is listed as a threatened species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service government.[2][3][4] The species can only be found in Iowa, Wisconsion, Ohio, and New York, and populations have been in decline since the 1980s.[5][6] Only seven populations can be found in the Catskill Mountains of New York State.[6] Most populations of the plant are found in northeastern Ohio, and portions of the "Driftless Area" located in northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin.[6]
Northern monkshood is noted for its very distinctive, blue hood-shaped flowers. The flowers are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in length, and a single stem may have many flowers. Stems range from about 1 to 4 feet (0.30 to 1.22 m) in length. The leaves are broad with coarse, toothed lobes.
- Typically found on shaded to partially shaded cliffs, algific talus slopes, or on cool, streamside sites.[5] These areas have cool soil conditions, cold air drainage, or cold groundwater flowage. On algific talus slopes, these conditions are caused by the outflow of cool air and water from ice contained in underground fissures. These fissures are connected to sinkholes and are a conduit for the air flows.
- A. noveboracense seedlings are highly sensitive to their environmental conditions and thrive in soil with a high moisture content. Adult plants are less sensitive to variations in environmental conditions than seedlings, and survivorship of the seedlings is reduced with decreases in temperature or moisture content. [5]
Northern monkshood is a perennial and reproduces from both seed and small tubers. Self fertilization is usually not a viable means for reproduction in A. noveboracense. The flowers bloom between June and September and are pollinated when bumblebees pry open the blossom to collect nectar and pollen, and seeds are dispersed through water or gravity.[6]
- ^ NatureServe (7 April 2023). "Aconitum noveboracense". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ a b "Northern wild monkshood (Aconitum noveboracense)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ a b 43 FR 17910
- ^ "Species Profile for Northern wild monkshood". Archived from the original on 15 February 2005. Retrieved 8 August 2005.
- ^ a b c Kuchenreuther, Margaret A. (1996). "The Natural History of Aconitum noveboracense Gray (Northern Monkshood), a Federally Threatened Specices". Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS. 103 (3–4): 6 – via UNI ScholarWorks.
- ^ a b c d Ring, Richard M. (2024) Aconitum noveboracense Species Status Assessment. New York Natural Heritage Program.