Beautiful Closeup!! On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 8:58 AM, Gurcharan Singh <singh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> *Aconitum chasmanthum* Stapf ex Holmes, Mus. Report, Pharm. Soc. Great > Britain 1903 > syn: *Aconitum napellus* Hook.f. & Thoms. (non L.) ; *Aconitum* * > chasmanthum* subsp. *baltistanicum* Qureshi & Chaudhri > * Aconitum* *kurramense* Qureshi & Chaudhri; *Aconitum* *violaceum* > var. *robustum* Stapf > > > Common names: Indian Napellus, Ban-bal-nag, Beshmolo, Mori > > Tall leafy plant, up to 90 cm with ruberous root; leaves similar, though > upper slightly smaller, 3-8 cm broad, cut alomost up to base into linear > segments; flowers blue or purplish, in up to 30 cm long racemes; upper sepal > curved back helmet-shaped, lateral oborbicular to nearly square; petals > (nectaries) 2-5 with 5-7 mm long claw; carpels usually 5, follicles oblong, > 10-15 mm, truncate. > > Often confused with A. napellus, this species is distributed from Chitral > to Kashmir at higher altitudes.The whole plant is highly toxic - simple > skin contact has caused numbness in some people. The dried root is > analgesic, anodyne, diaphoretic, diuretic, irritant and sedative. The root > is a rich source of active alkaloids, containing around 3%. It is best > harvested as soon as the plant dies down in the autumn. This is a very > poisonous plant and should only be used with extreme caution and under the > supervision of a qualified practitioner. > > Photographed from Apharwat, Kashmir in August, growing along forest > margins. It has also been introduced into newly developed alpine garden near > Kongdor, middle stop of Gondola above Gulmarg. > > > > > -- > Dr. Gurcharan Singh > Retired Associate Professor > SGTB Khalsa College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 > Res: 932 Anand Kunj, Vikas Puri, New Delhi-110018. > Phone: 011-25518297 Mob: 9810359089 > http://people.du.ac.in/~singhg45/ > > -- Regards Dr Balkar Singh Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology Arya P G College, Panipat Haryana-132103 09416262964
