Monkshood

A member of the Ranunculaceae plant family; it is a perennial herbaceous plant with blue, purple, white, pink or yellow flowers. There are over 250 species of Aconitum. It is used in Homeopathy, Chinese Medicine and traditional medicine; Western medicine considered to be of great importance before the invention of Morphine.

The root of this plant is very poisonous. If touched to your lips, the juice of this plant will cause a tingling numbing sensation.

The flower has five petals, with the large top petal making a cylinder shape upright cone, giving it the name Monkshood.

The name Wolfsbane's association with werewolves dates back to the Middle Ages; mixed with honey and powdered glass, Wolfsbane was used to poison wolves and was responsible for the death of many European wolves. In folklore, Wolfsbane was said to turn a person into a werewolf.
It was a popular ingredient of many Witches' (ie. Herbalists and Healers) potions.

In the Harry Potter books, J K Rowling describes the use of Wolfsbane in Wolfsbane potion, a complex potion used to protect a werewolf's intelligence when he transforms from human form; this effectively makes the werewolf less dangerous. Wolfsbane potion is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.