The botany of Chinese Aconitum species is briefly reviewed. Five species have been identified as sources of arrow poison: A. carmichaelii, A. nagarum, A. ouvrardianum, A. stylosum, and A. episcopale.The most important one, A. carmichaelii, has long served, together with A. kusnezoffii, as the main source of the Chinese medicinal aconite drugs — ts'ao wu (wu t'ou), the parent tuber, and fu ...