Eranthis

Description

Eranthis is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to southern Europe and east across Asia to Japan. The common name winter aconite comes from the early flowering time and the resemblance of the leaves to those of the related genus Aconitum, the true aconite. Like the notoriously toxic Aconitum Eranthis is poisonous, although the toxins are different, being mainly cardiac glycosides similar to those found in various other plant species such as Adonis vernalis or Asclepias incarnata, rather than the neurotoxic alkaloids of Aconitum.