[Case of fatal aconite poisoning, and its background]

Two people out of three who accidentally ate boiled aconite leaves died in 2012. This was a typical case of aconite poisoning in Japan: Aconite (Aconitum spp.) was mistakenly collected instead of Anemone flaccida, an edible wild plant. The leaves of these plants are quite similar to each other. Chemical analyses of the aconite plant left at the scene suggested intake of a fatal amount of aconitine alkaloids by each person. The collector, who died, had missed the botanical differences between the two plants, even though he owned a wild plant guidebook. A. flaccida should be collected with its flowers in order to aid positive indentification and avoid aconite poisoning.