Winter aconite is a yellow flowering spring plant in the buttercup family. Winter aconite is native to the woodlands of Europe across Asia to Japan and has become an introduced species in the North East areas of North America. Winter aconite is valued in cultivation as one of the earliest of all flowers to appear in the spring. The Latin name eranthis hyemalis means "winter-flowering". The common name comes from the early flowering time and the resemblance of the leaves to those of the related genus Aconitum, the true aconite.

There is currently no commercial applications for winter aconite.

Within the realm of rational and holistic medicine, there is currently no historical, or current, uses for winter aconite.

Please note that MIROFOSS does not suggest in any way that plants should be used in place of proper medical and psychological care. This information is provided here as a reference only.

Winter aconite is considered to be poisonous and should not be consumed.

Winter aconite can grow in light (sandy) medium (loamy) or heavy (clay) soils, and prefers well drained soil. Winter aconite can grow in acid, neutral, and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade and is known for attracting insects. Due to the toxicity of winter aconite, it is considered to be deer resistant.

Soil Conditions
Soil Moisture
Sunlight
Notes:

Winter aconite is a tuberous rooted herbaceous perennial growing 5cm to 15cm in height with large 2cm to 3cm yellow, cup shaped flowers held above a collar of 3 leaf-like bracts, appearing in late winter and early spring. The six sepals are bright yellow and petaloid and the petals are in the form of tubular nectaries. There are numerous stamens and usually six unfused carpels. The fruit are follicles each containing several seeds. The leaves only expand fully when the flowers are nearly finished; they are digitate, 5-8 cm diameter, with several notches, and only last for 2 to 3 months before dying down during the late spring. As a spring ephemeral plant, its life cycle exploits the deciduous woodland canopy, flowering at the time of maximum sunlight reaching the forest floor, then completely dying back to its underground tuber after flowering.

Plant Height	5cm to 15cm
Habitat	Forests, Thickets, Clearings, Lawns, Gardens
Leaves	Digitate
Leaf Margin	Entire
Leaf Venation	Paraelle
Stems	Smooth Stems
Flowering Season	February to April
Flower Type	Radially Symmetrical
Flower Colour	Yellow
Pollination	Bees, Insects
Flower Gender	Flowers are hermaphrodite and the plants are self-fertile
Fruit	Hard round seeds
USDA Zone	3B (-34°C to -37°C) cold weather limit

The following health hazards should be noted when handling or choosing a location to winter aconite:

TOXIC Winter aconite contains many alkaloids and is poisonous to humans.

-Click here- or on the thumbnail image to see an artist rendering, from The United States Department of Agriculture, of winter aconite. (This image will open in a new browser tab)

There is currently no seed image(s) available for winter aconite.

Winter Aconite can be translated into the following select languages:

Arabic	البيش الشتاء	Bulgarian	зимна самакитка	Chinese (Sim)	冬季附子
Croatian	zima jedić	Czech	zimní oměj	Danish	erantis
Dutch	winterakoniet	Esperanto	vintro acónito	Estonian	talvel aconite
Finnish	talvi ukonhattu	French	aconit d'hiver	German	Winterling
Greek	ακόνιτο χειμώνα	Hebrew	חונק דוב החורף	Hungarian	téltemető
Italian	inverno Aconitum	Japanese	冬のトリカブト	Korean	겨울 아코
Punjabi		Lithuanian	Žiemos Akonit	Norwegian	vinteren Aconitum
Persian	تاجالملوک زمستان	Polish	zima tojad	Portuguese	acónito de inverno
Romanian	Aconite iarnă	Russian	зима аконита	Slovak	zimné prvosienka
Spanish	acónito de invierno	Swedish	vintergäck	Tagalog
Turkish	kış kurtboğan	Ukrainian	зима аконіту	Vietnamese	mùa đông cây phụ

The MIROFOSS database offers free printable garden tags for personal and non-profit use. These tags can be used to properly identify plant samples in a garden. Click on the tags shown on the the screen or -click here- to download a full size jpeg image for a winter aconite identification tag; which can be printed on paper or used with a plastic laser printer.

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Description	Gleason, H. A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. Second Edition. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York.
Folklore	Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 9781845337315.
Image Rendering	USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Biology	Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum,
Image Rendering	USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Environment	National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40232-2
Physical Identification	National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40232-2
October 05, 2015	The last time this page was updated
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