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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 5

1 Pedicels and inflorescence rachis retrorse pubescent.   (2)
+ Pedicels and inflorescence rachis spreading pubescent, or in A. abietetorum and pedicels spreading and appressed pubescent; in A. tschangbaischanense and in A. daxinganlinense retrorse and appressed pubescent; in A. fusungense rachis glabrous and in A. dolichostachyum pedicels glabrous.   (17)
       
2 (1) Upper sepal high galeate; petaline limb inflated.   (3)
+ Upper sepal galeate, navicular, or falcate; petaline limb not inflated.   (5)
       
3 (2) Bracteoles usually leaflike   153 A. ramulosum
+ Bracteoles not leaflike.   (4)
       
4 (3) Petals pubescent; carpels 3, glabrous   156 A. chienningense
+ Petals glabrous; carpels 5 pubescent   147 A. macrorhynchum
       
5 (2) Upper sepal navicular, navicular-galeate, or falcate.   (6)
+ Upper sepal galeate.   (10)
       
6 (5) Carpels pubescent.   (7)
+ Carpels glabrous.   (8)
       
7 (6) Upper sepal falcate-navicular or falcate; petals pubescent, claw usually geniculate at apex   186 A. tongolense
+ Upper sepal navicular; petals glabrous, claw not geniculate at apex   166 A. richardsonianum
       
8 (6) Stem glabrous; upper sepal falcate-navicular or subfalcate   192 A. leiwuqiense
+ Stem apically sparsely retrorse pubescent; upper sepal navicular or navicular-galeate.   (9)
       
9 (8) Stem to 70 cm tall, not branched; inflorescence 8--17 cm, several flowered; sepals abaxially glabrous or subglabrous   175 A. sinonapelloides
+ Stem ca. 150 cm tall, apically branched; inflorescence elongate, up to 50 cm, 30-flowered; sepals abaxially pubescent   173 A. refractum
       
10 (5) Sepals yellow, frontal margin of upper sepal contracted; carpels 3   208 A. coreanum
+ Sepals blue-purple, frontal margin of upper sepal not contracted; carpels 3 or 5.   (11)
       
11 (10) Sepals abaxially densely pubescent; petals pubescent.   (12)
+ Sepals abaxially glabrous or subglabrous; petals glabrous.   (13)
       
12 (11) Inflorescence to 8 cm, 3--6-flowered; leaf central lobe broadly rhombic, acute at apex   180 A. liangshanicum
+ Inflorescence to 60 cm, many flowered; leaf central lobe rhombic or rhombic-ovate, acuminate at apex   160 A. kongboense
       
13 (11) Stamens sparsely pubescent   162 A. pseudokongboense
+ Stamens glabrous.   (14)
       
14 (13) Carpels 3, densely pubescent   176 A. diqingense
+ Carpels 3 or 4, glabrous.   (15)
       
15 (14) Stem 36--40 cm tall; leaf blade 4.2--5.2 cm; lateral sepals adaxially yellow sericeous   187 A. kagerpuense
+ Stem more than 100 cm tall; leaf blade 6--12 × 9--16 cm; lateral sepals adaxially glabrous or not yellow sericeous.   (16)
       
16 (15) Stem ca. 120 cm tall, not branched or 1-branched below inflorescence; leaf central lobe pinnatisect, ultimate lobules narrowly triangular to narrowly lanceolate; inflorescence ca. 10-flowered; upper sepal ca. 1.8 cm high   150 A. incisofidum
+ Stem ca. 200 cm tall, multibranched; leaf central lobe bipinnatisect, ultimate lobules linear or narrowly linear; inflorescence ca. 50-flowered; upper sepal to 1.4 cm high   163 A. polyanthum
       
17 (1) Upper sepal navicular or falcate.   (18)
+ Upper sepal high galeate or galeate.   (30)
       
18 (17) Upper sepal falcate.   (19)
+ Upper sepal navicular.   (21)
       
19 (18) Pedicels 3--7 mm, erect   190 A. chasmanthum
+ Pedicels 10--30 mm, ascending.   (20)
       
20 (19) Petaline limb glabrous; carpels 3   191 A. prominens
+ Petaline limb pubescent; carpels 5   183 A. liljestrandii
       
21 (18) Sepals abaxially pubescent.   (22)
+ Sepals abaxially glabrous.   (25)
       
22 (21) Stem branched, branches 10--20 cm, flagelliform; petaline claw sparsely brown-yellow pubescent, geniculate at apex   170 A. gezaense
+ Stem usually simple; petaline claw glabrous, not geniculate at apex.   (23)
       
23 (22) Inflorescence white, not glandular pubescent; upper sepal ca. 1.4 cm from base to beak; petaline spur ca. 1 mm, saccate   179 A. smirnovii
+ Inflorescence yellowish and glandular pubescent; upper sepal 1.7--2 cm from base to beak; petaline spur more than 3 mm, incurved.   (24)
       
24 (23) Leaf central lobe pinnatisect to bipinnatisect; inflorescence to 50 cm, usually ca. 20-flowered; carpels 5, densely yellowish pubescent   166 A. richardsonianum
+ Leaf central lobe shallowly divided; inflorescence to 18 cm, 3--7-flowered; carpels 3 or 4, glabrous or sparsely pubescent   193 A. smithii
       
25 (21) Carpels sparsely spreading pubescent.   (26)
+ Carpels glabrous.   (27)
       
26 (25) Stem 85--100 cm tall; leaf blade 4.7--7 × 7--10 cm; inflorescence 25--35 cm, 15--20-flowered; pedicels 2--9 cm; bracteoles remote from flower   168 A. ouvrardianum
+ Stem 7--21 cm tall; leaf blade 1.7--2.2 × 1.7--4 cm; inflorescence 1--4 cm, 3--7-flowered; pedicels 0.5--1.1 cm; bracteoles contiguous with flower   171 A. tenuicaule
       
27 (25) Inflorescence rachis and pedicels densely spreading yellowish pubescent, not yellow glandular pubescent; bracteoles pubescent; carpels 5.   (28)
+ Inflorescence rachis and pedicels spreading white pubescent and yellow glandular pubescent (in A. brateolosum mixed with appressed hairs) or rachis sparsely hairy; bracteoles glabrous; carpels 3 or 4.   (29)
       
28 (27) Stem apically densely retrorse and appressed pubescent; leaf sparsely appressed pubescent at veins; petaline claw geniculate at apex   184 A. pycnanthum
+ Stem, spreading pubescent; leaf blade spreading pubescent at veins; petaline claw not geniculate at apex   169 A. pilopetalum
       
29 (27) Inflorescence rachis densely pubescent; bracteoles narrowly linear; upper sepal 1.5--1.7 cm from base to beak; petaline claw glabrous or sparsely pubescent, not geniculate at apex   183 A. liljestrandii
+ Inflorescence rachis sparsely pubescent; bracteoles of lower pedicels leaflike; upper sepal ca. 2.2 cm from base to beak; petaline claw densely pubescent, geniculate at apex   185 A. bracteolosum
       
30 (17) Upper sepal galeate.   (31)
+ Upper sepal high galeate.   (35)
       
31 (30) Sepals yellow, abaxially pubescent, anterior margin of upper sepal at middle contracted; petaline claw geniculate at apex   209 A. anthoroideum
+ Sepals blue-purple, abaxially glabrous or pubescent, anterior margin of upper sepal not contracted; petaline claw not geniculate at apex or in A. abietetorum slightly geniculate.   (32)
       
32 (31) Sepals abaxially glabrous.   (33)
+ Sepals abaxially pubescent.   (34)
       
33 (32) Bracteoles linear; petals pubescent, claw not geniculate at apex, lip slightly emarginate; carpels 3   157 A. potaninii
+ Bracteoles of lower pedicels leaflike, those of distal pedicels linear; petals glabrous, slightly geniculate at apex, lip 2-lobed at apex; carpels 5   161 A. abietetorum
       
34 (32) Stem glabrous; leaf blade adaxially sparsely appressed pubescent, abaxially glabrous; inflorescence rachis glabrous; petaline spur circinate; filaments 2-denticulate   97 A. laevicaule
+ Stem spreading pubescent apically; leaf blade glabrous; inflorescence rachis densely spreading yellowish pubescent; petaline spur incurved; filaments entire   193 A. smithii
       
35 (30) Inflorescence rachis and pedicels glabrous   158 A. dolichostachyum
+ Inflorescence rachis and pedicels spreading or retrorse pubescent, or in A. fusungense inflorescence rachis glabrous.   (36)
       
36 (35) Leaf blade adaxially appressed retrorse pubescent, with intermixed sparsely spreading hairs, abaxially spreading villous   146 A. daxinganlinense
+ Leaf blade adaxially pubescent or pubescent only at veins, abaxially glabrous.   (37)
       
37 (36) Inflorescence rachis glabrous or retrorse pubescent.   (38)
+ Inflorescence rachis spreading pubescent.   (39)
       
38 (37) Leaf lobules narrowly lanceolate to linear-lanceolate; inflorescence rachis glabrous; pedicels 3--8 cm   143 A. fusungense
+ Leaf lobules linear; inflorescence rachis retrorse pubescent or glabrous; pedicels 2--5 cm   148 A. tschangbaischanense
       
39 (37) Ultimate leaf lobules ovate to lanceolate-linear, 4--6 mm wide; upper sepal usually with a long beak   141 A. paniculigerum
+ Ultimate lobules linear or lanceolate; upper sepal with a short beak or not beaked   (40)
       
40 (39) Stem 40--70 cm tall, twining at least apically; leaf lobe deeply dissected, ultimate lobules linear, 1.8--3 mm wide; petaline limb inflated.   (41)
+ Stem more then 100 cm tall, erect; leaf lobe shallowly divided ultimate lobules lanceolate to broadly lanceolate; petaline limb not inflated.   (42)
       
41 (40) Petaline spur circinate, 5--7 mm   155 A. delavayi
+ Petaline spur saccate, less than 3 mm   145 A. villosum
       
42 (40) Sepals abaxially, petals, and carpels all glabrous; leaf ultimate lobules 2--5 mm wide; stem 110--180 cm tall   151 A. piepunense
+ Sepals abaxially, petals, and carpels pubescent; leaf ultimate lobules 3--6 mm wide; stem ca. 100 cm tall   156 A. chienningense

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