Aconitum ferox
| Monkshood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Aconitum ferox | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Ranunculaceae |
| Genus: | Aconitum |
| Species: | A. ferox |
| Binomial name | |
| Aconitum ferox Wall. ex Ser. | |
Aconitum ferox also known as Aconitum virorum is a species of monkshood, in the family Ranunculaceae. It is also known as the Indian Aconite. Abundant at Sandakphu, which is the highest point of the Darjeeling Hills in the Indian State of West Bengal.
A deciduous perennial that grows up to 1.0 metre tall by 0.5 metres wide and which favours many types of soil, it is from Aconitum ferox that the well known Indian poison bikh, bish, or nabee is produced. It contains large quantities of the alkaloid pseudaconitine.
The symptoms of poisoning are usually seen within 45 minutes to an hour with numbness of the mouth and throat and vomiting after an hour that the sufficient dose was ingested. Respiration slows and blood pressure synchronously falls to within 30-40 beats per minute and the conscious mindedness stays until the end which is usually death by asphyxiation. This takes place before the arrest of the heart. [1]
Aconitum ferox is considered the most poisonous plant in the world.
Monier-Williams lists it as one of the definitions of <bhRGga> or Bhringa.
References
- ↑ Curry poisoning woman found guilty of murder, BBC News 2010-02-10