Aconitum degenii

Aconitum degenii, sometimes treated as a subspecies of A. variegatum, is a tall perennial herb in the Ranunculaceae family, native to mountainous regions of central and eastern Europe, including the Carpathians, Balkans and parts of the Alps. It grows from a tuberous, somewhat carrot-shaped rootstock and produces an erect, leafy stem 50 to 200 cm tall, sometimes scrambling over neighbouring vegetation. The leaves are alternate, palmately divided into five to seven deeply lobed and toothed segments, glossy dark green above and paler below. From mid to late summer it produces an elongated terminal raceme of striking violet-blue to deep purple, helmet-shaped flowers; the upper sepal forms a tall, narrow hood (galea) over the small concealed petals, a feature characteristic of the variegatum group. Fruits are clusters of three to five many-seeded follicles. All parts of the plant are highly toxic, containing potent diterpenoid alkaloids including aconitine.