I don't know what it is but it certainly isn't monkshood.

Why would you be wary if it was?

Hi Thepoisonga
Only because I keep reading about how poisonous it is and because from The Telegraph "Nathan Greenaway (a gardener) fell ill after brushing against the deadly flower aconitum, also known as Devil's Helmet and Monkshood, and died 5 days later". This was last November. Having looked at many sites showing Monkshood I am still not sure what it is as I cannot find anything else that resembles what I have. I am wondering if you looked at my other photo as the above is pretty pathetic photography on my part!

I've only just seen the other picture and the flower does look like monkshood. I thought you were asking about the plant in the pot.

Nathan Greenaway did not die because of monkshood. There was no evidence that he ever had contact with the plant and, in any case, no-one has ever died just from contact. I've spoken to people who've eaten it and survived.

The coroner returned an open verdict because there was expert evidence that this poor man's symptoms were nothing like monkshood poisoning and his doctors said they had not been able to establish what was causing his symptoms.

The reporting of the inquest was irresponsible.

Thank you for that though I still think monkshood has a cowl above and not a pouch below like in the photo. Glad you cleared up about Nathan Greenaway as it certainly seemed rather forbidding to have such a poisonous plant around. There seems to be an awful lot of irresponsible reporting these days about everything and anything. I have potted up the plant in the hope for flowers next year. By the way the other plant in the picture is a Pyracantha, we have just moved here so the garden is an exciting place as we wait to see what comes out each month.