Belongs within: Ranunculaceae.
Aconitum, the aconites, is a diverse genus of often highly toxic herbs found in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Characters (from Flora of China): Herbs perennial or pseudoannual, rarely annual, with taproots or 2 to several caudices. Stem erect or twining. Leaves simple or compound, cauline ones alternate, sometimes all basal, palmately divided, rarely undivided. Inflorescence usually racemose. Pedicel with 2 bracteoles. Flowers bisexual, zygomorphic. Sepals 5, petaloid, purple, blue, or yellow; lower sepals 2, narrowly lanceolate or oblong, small; lateral sepals 2, suborbicular; upper sepal falcate, navicular, galeate to cylindric. Petals 2, clawed; limb usually with lip and spur, secretory tissue usually at limb apex, rarely abaxial. Staminodes usually absent. Stamens numerous; anthers ellipsoid-globose. Carpels 3–5(–13); style short, persistent.
<==Aconitum |--A. alpino-nepalenseO88 |--A. amplexicauleO88 |--A. angulatumO88 |--A. anthoraC55 |--A. bhutanicum Kadota 1988K88 |--A. cammarumC98 |--A. columbianum [incl. A. geranioides, A. hansenii, A. columbianum var. howellii, A. leibergii, A. viviparum]H93 |--A. coreanumWB03 |--A. dhwojiiO88 |--A. gammieiO88 |--A. gymnandrumK88 |--A. heterophylloidesO88 | |--A. h. var. heterophylloidesO88 | `--A. h. var. leucanthumO88 |--A. heterophyllumK88 |--A. hookeriO88 |--A. japonicumK88 |--A. laciniatumO88 |--A. lycoctonumC98 |--A. napellusC55 |--A. naviculareO88 | |--A. n. var. naviculareO88 | `--A. n. var. leiocarpumO88 |--A. nepalenseO88 |--A. novoluridumO88 |--A. orochryseumO88 |--A. pulchellumO88 |--A. rotundifolium Kar. & Kir. 1842 (see below for synonymy)K88 |--A. senanenseK88 |--A. spicatumO88 |--A. staintoniiO88 |--A. tamuranumO88 |--A. tanguticum (Maximowicz) Stapf 1905 (see below for synonymy)K88 `--A. violaceumO88
Aconitum rotundifolium Kar. & Kir. 1842 [=A. napellus var. rotundifolium (Kar. & Kir.) Hooker & Thoms. 1872; incl. A. rotundifolium ssp. iliense Worosch. 1945, A. rotundifolium var. obtusilobum Tamura 1960, A. tianshanicum Ost. Sacken & Ruprecht 1896]K88
Aconitum tanguticum (Maximowicz) Stapf 1905 [=A. rotundifolium var. tanguticum Maximowicz 1889; incl. A. popovii Steinb. & Schisch. ex Sipliv. 1974, A. tanguticum var. trichocarpum Hand.-Mazz. 1939]K88
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[C55] Candolle, A. de. 1855. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 1. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.
[C98] Coquebert, C. 1798. Sur les plantes qui servoient aux anciens peuples de l’Europe à empoisonner leurs flèches. Bulletin des Sciences, par la Societé Philomathique de Paris 11: 81–83.
[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).
[K88] Kadota, Y. 1988. Aconitum bhutanicum (Ranunculaceae), a new species from Bhutan. In: Ohba, H., & S. B. Malla (eds) The Himalayan Plants vol. 1. The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 211–216.
[O88] Ohba, H. 1988. The alpine flora of the Nepal Himalayas: an introductory note. In: Ohba, H., & S. B. Malla (eds) The Himalayan Plants vol. 1. The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 19–46.
[WB03] Wang, Q.-M., F.-Y. Bai, J.-H. Zhao & J.-H. Jia. 2003. Bensingtonia changbaiensis sp. nov. and Bensingtonia sorbi sp. nov., novel ballistoconidium-forming yeast species from plant leaves. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 53: 2085–2089.