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FOC | Family List | FOC Vol. 6 | Ranunculaceae

10. Aconitum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 532. 1753; Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 236; 1754.

乌头属 wu tou shu

Li Liangqian; Yuichi Kadota

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.

About 400 species: temperate regions of the N hemisphere; 211 species (166 endemic) in China.


Key 3

1 Petaline limb obscure, with a hammer-shaped spur and minute lip; carpels 7--9   210 A. polycarpum
+ Petaline limb distinct, with a short or long spur and distinct lip; carpels usually 3--5.   (2)
       
2 (1) Stem erect, ascending, reclining, or trailing, not twining.   (3)
+ Stem twining.   (24)
       
3 (2) Stem leafy, not scapose.   (4)
+ Stem scapose to subscapose.   (5)
       
4 (4) Leaf blade palmately divided   Key 4
+ Leaf blade undivided   105 A. rhombifolium
       
5 (3) Leaf blade larger, 7--20(--30) cm wide.   (6)
+ Leaf blade smaller, less than 7 cm wide.   (8)
       
6 (5) Leaf lobes subdissected, ultimate lobules narrowly lanceolate to linear   39 A. duclouxii
+ Leaf lobes less divided, ultimate lobules triangular to lanceolate or broadly lanceolate.   (7)
       
7 (6) Pedicels spreading pubescent; leaf lobes contiguous or slightly overlapping   37 A. coriophyllum
+ Pedicels appressed pubescent; leaf lobes separate   38 A. nagarum
       
8 (5) Leaf blade deeply 3-lobed near to base.   (9)
+ Leaf blade medially 3-lobed.   (13)
       
9 (8) Stem, pedicels, and sepals abaxially glabrous; upper sepal galeate, with a long beak   149 A. monanthum
+ Stem, pedicels, and sepals abaxially pubescent; upper sepal navicular or falcate-navicular.   (10)
       
10 (9) Cauline leaves 6--9; upper sepal falcate-navicular.   (11)
+ Cauline leaves 1 or 2; upper sepal navicular.   (12)
       
11 (10) Inflorescence 3--10-flowered; pedicels to 5 cm; carpels glabrous   36 A. sinchiangense
+ Inflorescence ca. 20-flowered; pedicels to 3 cm; carpels pubescent   178 A. handelianum
       
12 (10) Petaline limb with both lip and spur   34 A. pulchellum
+ Petaline limb strongly reduced to a small hooklike structure, without lip and spur   35 A. hamatipetalum
       
13 (8) Petaline lip divided into 2 linear lobes   28 A. rotundifolium
+ Petaline lip divided into 2 ± orbicular lobes.   (14)
       
14 (13) Petaline spur erect.   (15)
+ Petaline spur slightly incurved.   (16)
       
15 (14) Bracteoles linear, undivided   26 A. naviculare
+ Bracteoles 3-fid   27 A. creagromorphum
       
16 (14) Inflorescence retrorse pubescent.   (17)
+ Inflorescence spreading pubescent.   (20)
       
17 (16) Bracts leaflike; bracteoles 3-fid; petals pubescent, distinctly spurred, lip tonguelike, distinct   30 A. longipetiolatum
+ Bracts linear; bracteoles linear, entire; petals glabrous, with slightly incurved or cup-shaped spur, lip distinct or not.   (18)
       
18 (17) Petaline spur slightly incurved, lip indistinct, claw straight at spur apex   23 A. tanguticum
+ Petaline spur cup-shaped, lip short but distinct, claw straight or coiled at spur apex.   (19)
       
19 (18) Petaline claw strongly coiled at apex, lip entire, projecting forward   25 A. spiripetalum
+ Petaline claw slightly incurved at apex, lip 2-lobed, reflexed   24 A. qinghaiense
       
20 (16) Inflorescence racemose, 2--5-flowered; leaf blade to 5 cm wide; upper sepal navicular-conical to conical   29 A. changianum
+ Inflorescence corymbose, 1--3-flowered; leaf blade usually to 3 cm wide (A. ichangense to 5.4 cm); upper sepal navicular to navicular-conical.   (21)
       
21 (20) Bracteoles narrowly elliptic; carpels 3   31 A. ichangense
+ Bracteoles subulate; carpels 5.   (22)
       
22 (21) Sepals yellow to greenish white; leaf lobes shallowly lobed   32 A. iochanicum
+ Sepals blue-purple; leaf lobes deeply lobed.   (23)
       
23 (22) Flowers larger, upper sepal 2--2.5 cm from base to beak   33 A. alpinonepalense
+ Flowers smaller, upper sepal to 1.5 cm from base to beak   34 A. pulchellum
       
24 (2) Pedicels spreading pubescent.   (25)
+ Pedicels retrorse and appressed pubescent or glabrous.   (30)
       
25 (24) Leaf blade deeply 3-lobed to 2--3.3 mm from base, lobes ± dissected, lobules narrowly lanceolate to linear-lanceolate.   (26)
+ Leaf blade medially to shallowly 3-lobed; segment undivided or lobed, rarely dissected (A. volubile).   (27)
       
26 (25) Sepals white, upper sepal galeate, ca. 1.5 cm high; bracteoles villous; carpels 3   108 A. weixiense
+ Sepals blue-purple, upper sepal high galeate, 1.7--1.8 cm high; bracteoles glabrous; carpels 5   121 A. episcopale
       
27 (25) Leaf central segment undivided or indistinctly 3-lobed, margin coarsely dentate   126 A. cannabifolium
+ Leaf central segment 3-lobed or pinnatisect.   (28)
       
28 (27) Stem spreading pilose; petals pubescent; carpels glabrous   125 A. shensiense
+ Stem glabrous or sparsely retrorse pubescent; petals glabrous; ovary pubescent.   (29)
       
29 (28) Rhizome connecting caudices shorter than 5 mm; central leaf segment 3-lobed, ultimate lobules triangular   128 A. sczukinii
+ Rhizome connecting caudices up to 6 cm; central leaf segment subpinnately parted, ultimate lobules lanceolate to linear   129 A. volubile
       
30 (24) Bracteoles elliptic, obovate, spatulate, to leaflike and palmately lobed.   (31)
+ Bracteoles linear to subulate, entire.   (34)
       
31 (30) Stem bulbiferous; bracteoles palmately lobed; petaline spur ca. 10 mm   111 A. bulbilliferum
+ Stem not bulbiferous; bracteoles entire; petaline spur 1.5--3 mm.   (32)
       
32 (31) Leaf blade deeply 3-lobed less than 5 mm from base   90 A. contortum
+ Leaf blade medially 3-lobed more than 5 mm from base.   (33)
       
33 (32) Leaf blade 3-parted to more than 1 cm from base, central lobe 3-lobed   107 A. refracticarpum
+ Leaf blade 3-parted to 5--7 mm from base, central lobe pinnatisect   110 A. tsaii
       
34 (30) Leaf blade deeply 3-lobed less than 5 mm from base.   (35)
+ Leaf blade medially 3-lobed more than 5 mm from base.   (39)
       
35 (34) Leaf central segment undivided, bluntly dentate at margin, lanceolate or rhombic-lanceolate   127 A. henryi
+ Leaf central segment lobed or parted, rhombic or broadly rhombic.   (36)
       
36 (35) Leaf central segment broadly rhombic, acute at apex   117 A. vilmorinianum
+ Leaf central segment rhombic, acuminate or long acuminate at apex.   (37)
       
37 (36) Leaf segments dissected; ultimate lobules lanceolate to linear   129 A. volubile
+ Leaf segments lobed; ultimate lobules ovate or triangular.   (38)
       
38 (37) Upper sepal galeate, with a distinct beak; petals and carpels pubescent   123 A. lioui
+ Upper sepal high galeate, with an indistinct beak; petals and carpels glabrous   124 A. sungpanense
       
39 (34) Leaf blade parted to more than 6 mm above base.   (40)
+ Leaf blade parted to 1.5--5 mm from base.   (45)
       
40 (39) Upper sepal high galeate.   (41)
+ Upper sepal galeate.   (42)
       
41 (40) Leaf blade 3-parted slightly beyond middle, central lobe ovate-rhombic or trapezoid-rhombic, indistinctly 3-lobed; pedicels appressed pubescent or glabrous   106 A. hemsleyanum
+ Leaf blade 3-parted nearly to base, central lobe rhombic, 3-parted or subpinnately divided; pedicels densely retrorse pubescent   116 A. austroyunnanense
       
42 (40) Leaf central lobe ovate-rhombic or trapezoid, nearly undivided, several dentate above middle   109 A. crassicaule
+ Leaf central lobe broadly ovate-rhombic, pinnately divided.   (43)
       
43 (42) Inflorescence rachis sparsely retrorse pubescent; petals sparsely pubescent; leaf blade leathery   119 A. validinerve
+ Inflorescence rachis glabrous; petals glabrous; leaf blade membranous.   (44)
       
44 (43) Leaf central lobe cuneate-rhombic, narrowly cuneate at base; petaline claw geniculate at apex   115 A. longilobum
+ Leaf central lobe rhombic, broadly cuneate at base; petaline claw not geniculate   118 A. pseudostapfianum
       
45 (39) Upper sepal high galeate.   (46)
+ Upper sepal galeate to conical or hemispheric.   (48)
       
46 (45) Leaf lobes lobed, ultimate lobules triangular or narrowly triangular   116 A. austroyunnanense
+ Leaf lobes parted, ultimate lobules sublinear.   (47)
       
47 (46) Carpels glabrous; inflorescence 2--4-flowered   114 A. elwesii
+ Carpels sparsely appressed pubescent; inflorescence 10--16-flowered   122 A. campylorrhynchum
       
48 (45) Pedicels and sepals abaxially glabrous   120 A. stapfianum
+ Pedicels and sepals abaxially pubescent.   (49)
       
49 (48) Upper sepal with a beak ca. 5 mm, usually curved upward   122 A. campylorrhynchum
+ Upper sepal with a beak ca. 0.5 mm, straight or curved downward.   (50)
       
50 (49) Petaline claw not geniculate at apex; pedicels 7--26 mm; leaf central lobe 3-lobed below middle   113 A. chuanum
+ Petaline claw geniculate at apex; pedicels 22--70 mm; leaf central lobe 3-parted beyond middle   112 A. habaense

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