Aconitum columbianum
Columbian Monkshood

Family: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)

Photo taken in Tumwater Canyon, growing in a moist meadow, partial to full sun

Flowers:

raceme inflorescence; sepals deep bluish purple or white to yellow-green; upper petals blue to whitish, hood 15 to 30 mm

Fruit:

seeds strongly winged lengthwise

Leaves:

3 to 17 cm long, 5 to 14 cm wide, 3 to 5 deep lobes, toothed to irregularly cut or lobed above the middle

Plant:

3 to 20 dm, more or less fistulose

Habitat:

moist woods to subalpine meadows, often along streams

Distribution of species:

southern Alaska to California, mostly in the east Cascades, east to Montana, South Dakota, and New Mexico

Distribution of genus:

more or less 100 species: temperate North America and Eurasia