It occurs in the form of tuberous roots of a more or less conical form, from two to three inches in length, and from half an inch to one inch in thickness at their upper end. They have usually a shrunken appearance, and are covered with a dark shrivelled bark; fracture shining and resinous; sometimes waxy, varying in colour from pale to deep brown. Some specimens are white and spongy; and these, it is asserted, are superior in activity to the more compact kinds. Inodorous; taste at first slightly bitter, leaving a peculiar sense of numbness on the tongue and fauces. Active principle, aconitia. _Medical Properties and Uses._ Similar to those of _aconitum napellus_ of Europe. _Preparations._ This root may be advantageously used for the manufacture of aconitia, the proportion of this alkaloid being much larger than in the European drug; and also for the preparation of Linimentum Aconiti. From its greater activity, however, it is unsuited for the preparation of this tincture, which is intended for external use. =Aconitum Hetorophyllum.= (Ind. P.) _Habitat_. Western temperate Himalaya, at 8000 to 13,000 feet elevation; from Indus to Kumaon. _Officinal part._ The dried root (_Aconiti heterophylli Radix_). Ovoid tuberous roots, tapering downwards to a point, from one to one and a half inches or more in length, and from three eighths to half an inch in thickness. The surface, which is covered with a thin greyish epidermis, is slightly wrinkled longitudinally, and marked here and there with root scars. It is inodorous, and of a bitter taste, devoid of acridity. Does not contain aconitia. It may be readily distinguished from other roots sold in the bazaars under the same vernacular name (Atis) by its characteristic bitterness. _Properties._ Tonic and antiperiodic. It may be administered internally with safety, as it contains no poisonous principle. _Therapeutic uses_. In convalescence after debilitating diseases, and in intermittent and other paroxysmal fevers, it has been found an efficient remedy. _Doses._ Tonic, 5 to 10 grains thrice daily; antiperiodic, 20 to 30 grains of the powdered root every three or four hours, irrespective of the presence of pyrexia.