Wolfsbane

Poison or Panacea

Wolfsbane 

Aconitum napellus

Perhaps you did not know this was a real plant, only believed it was straight out of werewolf fiction, but it is real…and it is dangerous. Frequently used throughout history to poison weapons and lace baited meat for wolf traps. However, it has been used hesitantly in traditional medicine as well. Dioscoriedes recommends it as an anodyne in eye medication and it is sometimes alluded to topical use for sciatica and neurological pains. Notoriously dangerous, it was mostly avoided, however, famed historical herbalist, John Gerard, expresses and details how flies (approximately 20) that feed off the plant can later be used as the antidote to “tarantulas and all other poisons”.

Today Aconite is often only used as a homeopathic remedy where the molecular structure of the water is imprinted with chemical makeup of the plant, but no actual physical trace of the plant remains. 

*this plant is so poisonous that gardeners that care for it are warned to wear gloves