STORY BEHIND THE ART OF ROBIN MOORE

22nd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Marin Art & Garden Center

Monkshood

Aconitum napellus

Yes, it’s poisonous!

Many years ago on a visit home to Long Island, I proudly brought my mother the then unusual Monkshood or Aconitum. Immediately it was relegated to the back of the perennial border with her saying simply, “you know, it’s poisonous”. Not knowing her to forage for dinner, I was puzzled. But as a docent at Planting Fields Arboretum, she knew her stuff and was wary. There it sat for years until I commanded this bed moved. Separated and given sunlight, it flourished quickly, even for a monkshood.

Originally from cold mountain meadows in the northern hemisphere, monkshood likes a well drained soil which the north shore of Long island provides. Its beautiful blue-purple color is affected annually by the range in temperature each fall provides and can bloom from September through October. The intensity of color varies; this year gave a spectacular color, lots of blue.

A relative of wolfsbane whose poisonous leaves were historically used to dip arrowheads in, it was named more affectionately ‘Monkshood’ by the English. Its leaves are pretty, palmate and deeply lobed, in 5-7 segments, leathery and tough enough to withstand cool fall nights.

For me, the plant is divided into three main sections. The ‘helmet’ is one of five sepals called galea, located in the posterior. Two upper sepals form a mouth, provide support, and conceal a stem crowded by racemes of creamy, greenish beige zygomorphic flowers with multi stamens. Supported by two more sepals are a ‘tongue’. The blooms are long-lived and eventually fall away to reveal 3-5 shiny green, swollen carpels.

The difficulty I had with this painting, besides all the arranging of the flowerheads and individual blooms, was getting the color right: ultramarine blue in light layers followed by Winsor Newton purple and a grisaille mix adding permanent magenta. It is not reflective at all but translucent. You can see tiny hairs under magnification. It is deeply veined and cushioned in part. The mature buds were easier, cleaved and brightly patterned.

So despite its scurrilous heritage, monkshood is a great plant to admire in the garden for a pop of color when you need it most come October.

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Read more about this artist’s work: Out of the Woods