The monkshoods are good perennials, slowly forming multi-stemmed plants. Some are tall species, and at the other extreme there are dwarf, high-altitude alpines. All have spikes of characteristic hooded flowers.

Aconitum piepunense is extremely rare in cultivation, possibly never offered before we did. It is tall, with unusually loose, open spires of flowers, pale blue. The individual flowers are not large, and it is not a showy plant, but it is elegant. We were originally given a single seed, which turned into a plant that has grown in our garden for about ten years, and has at last produced sufficient seed to give a crop. Piepun is an ancient name for what was later known as Chungtien, then Zhongdian, and now (sadly) Shangri La.