View source for Aconitum columbianum

{{Short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Aconitum_columbianum_6017.JPG
|image_caption = ''Aconitum columbianum'' in [[Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest]]
|status = {{TNCStatus}}
|status_system = TNC
|genus = Aconitum
|species = columbianum
|authority = [[Thomas Nuttall|Nutt.]]
|range_map = Aconitum columbianum distribution.svg
|synonyms = ''Aconitum geranioides''<br/>''Aconitum leibergii''
}}

'''''Aconitum columbianum''''' is a species of flowering plant in the [[Ranunculaceae|buttercup family]] known by the common names '''Columbian monkshood''' or '''western monkshood'''.

This wildflower is native to western North America where it grows in riparian and other moist areas, in meadows and coniferous forests. It is found from {{convert|600|–|2900|m|ft}} in elevation.<ref>[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?6434,6435,6436 Jepson] . accessed 7.23.2013</ref>

==Description==
''Aconitum columbianum'' is a [[herbaceous plant|herbaceous]] [[perennial plant|perennial]] that grows from a large tuber-like root with a spindle shape.<ref name="NWHandbook">{{cite book |last1=Gilkey |first1=Helen M. |last2=Dennis |first2=La Rea J |title=Handbook of Northwestern Plants |date=2001 |publisher=Oregon State University Press |isbn=0-87071-490-2 |edition=3rd |location=Corvallis, OR |page=145}}</ref><ref name="Jewels" /> The stems can be from 20-300&nbsp;centimeters tall and be either erect or trailing.<ref name="FNA">{{cite web |last1=Brink |first1=D. E. |last2=Woods |first2=J. A. |title='' Aconitum columbianum'' - FNA |url=http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Aconitum_columbianum |website=Flora of North America |access-date=5 June 2023 |date=}}</ref> 

[[Image:Aconitum columbianum 6023.JPG|left|thumb|Leaves]]
The leaves that are attached to the stems have as many as 7 deep divisions almost reaching the base of the leaf, but most often 3–5 divisions. There most often be about 2&nbsp;millimeters of leaf tissue between the stem attachment to the leaf and the deepest point of each leaf division.<ref name="FNA" /> The [[Glossary of leaf morphology#Edge|edges]] of each leaf segment are toothed or cleft.<ref name="NWHandbook" /> Each leaf is 5–15&nbsp;centimeters wide.<ref name="FNA" />

[[Image:Columbian monkshood - Aconitum Columbianum (29916425068).jpg|left|thumb|Flowering, Yellowstone National Park]]
The flowering stem can either be a single stem without branches and multiple flowers called [[raceme]] or a branched [[panicle]].<ref name="NWHandbook" /> The flowers are most often blue, but can occasionally be white, cream colored, or white with a blush of blue at the margins of the [[sepal]]s. The flowers are variable in size and can measure from 18–55&nbsp;mm from the top of the upright "hood" sepal to the tips of the two downward pointing sepals. The two hanging ([[glossary of botanical terms#pendulous|pendulous]]) sepals measure 6–16&nbsp;mm.<ref name="FNA" /> The prominent hood is varies in shape from being rounded to conical or even more of a crescent shape and measures 10–34&nbsp;mm from the base where it inserts into the supporting stem to the top of the hood.<ref name="FNA" /><ref name="NWHandbook" />

[[Image:Aconitum columbianum seeds.jpg|left|thumb|Seeds]]
The fruits are dry pod-like [[Follicle (fruit)|follicles]], 10–20&nbsp;mm long.<ref name="NWHandbook" />

Like other [[Aconitum|monkshoods]] (''Aconitum'' species), this plant is poisonous to humans and livestock, although some species have been used to make drugs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Whitney |first=Stephen |title=Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides) |date=1985 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |isbn=0-394-73127-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/598 598] |url=https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/598 }}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
''Aconitum columbianum'' was first scientifically described by [[Thomas Nuttall]] in 1838 in ''A flora of North America'' by Torrey and Gray.<ref name="POWO A columbianum" /> It was described from specimens collected from "springy places on the Oregon, below Wallawallah".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Torrey |first1=John |last2=Gray |first2=Asa |title=A flora of North America: containing abridged descriptions of all the known indigenous and naturalized plants growing north of Mexico; arranged according to the natural system |date=1838 |publisher=Wiley & Putnam |location=New York |page=34 |url=https://archive.org/details/afloranorthamer00graygoog/page/n55 |access-date=6 June 2023}}</ref>

===Subspecies===
Two subspecies or varieties recognized by [[Plants of the World Online]] (POWO) as of 2023:<ref name="POWO A columbianum">{{cite POWO |id=707271-1 |title=''Aconitum columbianum'' Nutt. |access-date=6 June 2023}}</ref>
*''Aconitum columbianum'' var. ''columbianum''
*''Aconitum columbianum'' var. ''howellii'' (A.Nelson & J.F.Macbr.) C.L.Hitchc.

One other subspecies, ''Aconitum columbianum'' ssp. ''viviparum'', is recognized by some botanists or botanical organizations such as Gilkey and Dennis in the ''Handbook of Northwestern Plants'',<ref name="NWHandbook" /> the USDA [[Natural Resources Conservation Service]] PLANTS database (PLANTS),<ref>{{cite usda plants|symbol=ACCOV2 |title=Aconitum columbianum Nutt. ssp. viviparum (Greene) D.E. Brink |date=6 June 2023}}</ref> and the ''[[Flora of North America]]'' (FNA).<ref name="FNA ssp viviparum">{{cite web |last1=Brink |first1=D. E. |last2=Woods |first2=J. A. |title=''Aconitum columbianum'' subsp. ''viviparum'' - FNA |url=http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Aconitum_columbianum_subsp._viviparum |website=Flora of North America |access-date=6 June 2023 |date=}}</ref>  ''Aconitum columbianum'' ssp. ''viviparum'' differs from the [[Autonym (botany)|nominate subspecies]], ''A. columbianum'' var. ''columbianum'', in having [[bulbil]]s where the leaf stems meet the main stem of the plant (in the leaf [[Glossary of botanical terms#axil|axil]]s) and sometimes in place of flowers.<ref name="NWHandbook" /><ref name="FNA ssp viviparum" />

==Range and habitat==
''Aconitum columbianum'' grows throughout the western United States, from the west coast through the Rocky Mountains. In addition, it is also found in parts of British Columbia and South Dakota. It is also reported to grow in Iowa,<ref name="USDA A columbianum">{{cite usda plants|symbol=ACCO4 |title=Aconitum columbianum Nutt. |date=6 June 2023}}</ref> Wisconsin, New York, and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua.<ref name="POWO A columbianum" />

In 2016, [[NatureServe]] evaluated ''Aconitum columbianum'' as globally secure (G5). In addition it is evaluated by them as vulnerable at the state level (S3) in Wyoming.<ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web |last1=NatureServe |title=Aconitum columbianum Columbian Monkshood |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.150096/Aconitum_columbianum |website=NatureServe Explorer |publisher=NatureServe |access-date=17 April 2023 |location=Arlington, Virginia |date=2023}}</ref>

==Cultivation==
Western monkshood is occasionally grown in gardens for its dramatic dark purple-blue blossoms. It requires a moist and rich soil as well as shade in all but the gentlest of climates.<ref name="Jewels">{{cite book |last1=Barr |first1=Claude A. |title=Jewels of the plains : wild flowers of the Great Plains grasslands and hills |date=1983 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=0-8166-1127-0 |page=18}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Aconitum columbianum}}
*[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?6434,6435,6436 Jepson Manual Treatment of ''Aconitum columbianum'']
*[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=88 CalFlora Database: ''Aconitum columbianum'']
*[http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Aconitum+columbianum ''Aconitum columbianum'' — U.C. Photo gallery]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1943418}}

[[Category:Aconitum|columbianum]]
[[Category:Flora of the Northwestern United States]]
[[Category:Flora of the Southwestern United States]]
[[Category:Flora of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Flora of Chihuahua (state)]]
[[Category:Flora of Iowa]]
[[Category:Flora of New Mexico]]
[[Category:Flora of Ohio]]
[[Category:Flora of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Flora of Sonora]]
[[Category:Flora of South Dakota]]
[[Category:Flora of Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1838]]