Why is wolfsbane called wolfsbane

Internet Journal of Forensic Med. Been A. Aconitum: Genus of Powerful and Sensational Plants. Blaisdell JD. A frightful but not necessarily, fatal, madness: rabies in eighteenth-century England and English North America. Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. Chakravarty H, Chakravarti D. Indian Aconites. Ecology Botany, 8 4 : ChanTY, et al. Aconitine poisoning due to Chinese herbal medicines: a review. Vet and human toxicology, 36 5 : Aconitum lycoctonum Ranunculaceae [Internet][cited Jan 17].

Elpel TJ. But its poison can also act through contact with the skin, particularly if there are open wounds. The roots are thought to be especially poisonous but even so, people have been known to eat the roots and survive so it is very difficult to know how much contact is needed to kill someone. As with any poisonous plant, the best way to avoid it is to learn to recognise what it looks like.

Foxglove grows in woodlands and hedgerows. It is a common garden plant, popular due to its tall purple flowers. Its large soft leaves grow in a rosette. If any part of the plant is eaten it causes vomiting and diarrhoea together with other unpleasant symptoms, and just like wolfsbane it can slow the heart down causing heart attacks.

Even contact can cause irritation to the skin. However, foxglove has saved more lives than it has cost as drugs derived from the plant are used to treat heart conditions. Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

Already subscribed? Log in. Close collaboration between the police and forensic pathologists and toxicologists helped to solve this case. Aconitum napellus , monkshood [internet video]. The Poison Garden [accessed Nov 6, ]. Aconite poisoning over 5 years: a case series in Hong Kong and lessons towards herbal safety. Drug Saf ; Successful treatment of monkshood Aconite napel poisoning with magnesium sulfate. Am J Emerg Med ; e Herbal aconite tea and refractory ventricular tachycardia.

N Engl J Med ; Severe acute poisoning with homemade Aconitum napellus capsules: toxicokinetic and clinical data. Clin Toxicol Phila ; Int J Cardiol ;e A case of fatal aconitine poisoning by monkshood ingestion. J Forensic Sci ; Aconitine involvement in an unusual homicide case. Int J Legal Med ; The Bottom Line Aconitum napellus flowers look beautiful, but swallowing any part of the plant could be deadly. The Full Story Aconitum napellus A. Never eat any plant found in a wilderness setting.

Keep all plants out of the reach of children. This Really Happened Case 1. Case 3.