Monkshood, wolfsbane and the poison garden

Aconitum, known as monkshood or wolfsbane, is one of the most poisonous plants in the European garden. Its hooded violet flowers are beautiful; every part of it is toxic.

In folklore

Its common name comes from its use against wolves: baits laced with aconite were set by shepherds for centuries. By the nineteenth century the plant had crept into the vocabulary of the gothic, a shorthand for protection and peril at once.

In fiction

Look carefully and you will find it everywhere, from Victorian poisoning plots to the chemistry of transformation.