Winter Aconite

Winter Aconite Eranthis hyemalis (08/02/2011) - Photo: Indra Jackson

There can be no more cheerful sight on an early February day than a group of bright yellow Winter Aconites Eranthis hyemalis lighting up the gloomy winter woodland. This pretty little plant is a native of Southern Europe belonging to the Ranuculaceae or Buttercup family and is widely naturalised in woodlands, copses and parks throughout the Eastern half of the country. They have long been popular garden plants, grown for their early flowers and bright green foliage and are particularly useful as ground cover. The plant is also known as Wolf's Bane and is highly poisonous, although the acrid taste makes poisoning unlikely. In Greek mythology it was believed that the Aconite contained the toxic saliva of Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guarded the Underworld. Hercules dragged Cerberus from the Underworld and the dog, shying from the light, dropped saliva on the ground and it's deadly poison entered the plants that grew in that spot.

I am usually out of the country in January and February when the Winter Aconites are in flower and I was determined not to miss out this year. So last week on a rare sunny day I rushed over to Aldbury Village to photograph this large group, growing on a chalky slope at the edge of Ashridge Forest.

Winter Aconite Eranthis hyemalis (08/02/2011)