Monkshood — Antique Botanical Print

The Story in the Margin

Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) is a strikingly beautiful, hooded-flowered perennial of the mountain meadows of western and central Europe, its violet-blue blooms resembling the cowled hoods worn by medieval monks. It is also called wolfsbane, a name the English botanist William Turner recorded in 1548 for the old practice of lacing meat bait with its root to kill wolves, and for centuries it carried a reputation as the 'queen of poisons,' said in Greek myth to have sprung from the toxic slobber of Cerberus, the three-headed hound of the underworld. Every part of the plant contains aconitine, a potent neurotoxin capable of stopping the heart within hours of ingestion. Despite — or because of — its lethal power, monkshood was a fixture of herbals and physic gardens, painstakingly illustrated so apothecaries could distinguish it from safer relatives.

Materials & origin

• Material: 200 gsm gallery-grade, acid-free fine-art paper (FSC-certified).
• Print: Archival giclée, 12-colour printing, smooth matte finish for glare-free display.
• Artwork: Restored from a public-domain original; colour and detail digitally cleaned for large-format print.
• Origin: Made on demand and shipped from the print hub nearest you, cutting transit and waste.
• Framing: Sold unframed; ships rolled in a protective tube.