Description :
Biennial herb. Root paired tuberous; root fibers,
dark brown externally, fracture scarcely farinaceous, yellowish, taste rather indifferent having strong tingling sensation. Stem erect, with numerous fine roots near the upper end, simple erect, slender covered with yellow hairs in the upper part, glabrous below hollow.
Leaves scattered, excepting the lowest 2-3, usually delayed at the time of the flowering, upto 7, glabrous, or the uppermost sparingly hairy, petioles
slender, Inflorescence raceme, often with branches; rachis slender, densely yellow – pubescent to
sub-tomentose; floral leaves same but much reduced, trifid or entire and linear-lanceolate bracts; bracteoles resembling reduced bracts; pedicels slender, the lowest long. Sepals bluer, hairy, uppermost-helmet shaped,
from tips to the base, lateral sepals oblique, obovate, clawed. Lower sepals deflexed, oblong, subacute.
The flowers are pollinated by Bees. Nectarines-glabrous, claw erect, hood oblique, oblong, lanceolate, acute, entire. Follicles oblong, sub-truncate, dorsally sub-convex, glabrous, conspicuously reticulate. Seeds obovoid, winged along the raphe, transverse lamellae undulate[72].
Flowering from August to September.
Distribution :
Shrubberies and forest clearings, 2100 - 3600 m from C. Nepal to Bhutan[51]. W.B., Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh.
Cultivation :
The plant prefers heavy clay soil. The plant survives acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade or no shade. It requires moist soil.
Thrives in most soils and in the light shade of
trees[46]. Prefers a calcareous soil. A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby species, especially legumes[63]. Closely related to A. napellus[46].
Seed best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[116]. The seed can be stratified and sown in spring but
will then be slow to germinate[110]. Plant them out in late spring or early summer. Division - best done in spring but it can also be done in autumn[46,116]. Another report says that division is best carried out in the autumn or late winter because the plants come into growth very early in the year[128].
Parts Used :
Root. Underground stem.
Uses :
The root considered cardiac stimulant, hypoglycemic, diaphoretic & antiphytogistic. Powdered root in the form of liniment or paste is spread over the skin in case of arthritis & in scabies. It has been used in India in the treatment of leprosy, fevers, cholera and rheumatism[23].
Constituents :
It contains the alkaloids pseudoaconite, chasmaconite, indaconite, and bikhaconite. Recently 2 new alkaloids veratroyl pseudoaconitine & diacetyl pseudoaconitine are found[34].
Caution :
The whole plant is highly toxic - simple skin contact has caused numbness in some people[46, 104, 68].
Status :
Terrestrial, both wild and cultivated.
Note :
Members of this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits and deer[128]. |
