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Hellebore
Helleborus niger, the so-called "Christmas rose", in the wild
Helleborus niger, the so-called "Christmas rose", in the wild
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Helleborus
L.
Species

See text. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Magnoliopsida is the Botanical name for a class of Flowering plants By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its Ranunculales is an order of Flowering plants Of necessity it contains the family Ranunculaceae, the Buttercup family Ranunculaceae is a family of Flowering plants also known as the "buttercup family" or "crowfoot family" Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank.

19th century illustration of Helleborus niger
19th century illustration of Helleborus niger
Helleborus foetidus has handsome, deeply divided evergreen leaves
Helleborus foetidus has handsome, deeply divided evergreen leaves
The small green flowers of H. foetidus often have a purple edge to each 'petal'
The small green flowers of H. foetidus often have a purple edge to each 'petal'
The Corsican hellebore, Helleborus argutifolius (formerly H. lividus subsp. corsicus or H. corsicus)
The Corsican hellebore, Helleborus argutifolius (formerly H. lividus subsp. corsicus or H. corsicus)
Helleborus thibetanus
Helleborus thibetanus


Commonly known as Hellebores, members of the genus Helleborus comprise approximately 20 species (ongoing fieldwork may see this figure change) of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. A herbaceous plant (or in botanical use a Herb) is a Plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of A perennial plant or perennial ( Latin per, "through" annus, "year" is a Plant that lives for more than The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Ranunculaceae is a family of Flowering plants also known as the "buttercup family" or "crowfoot family" In Biology, a tribe &mdashor infrafamily&mdashis a Taxonomic rank between family and Genus. Many species are poisonous.

Contents

Distribution and description

The genus is native to much of Europe, from western Great Britain, Spain and Portugal, eastward across the Mediterranean region and central Europe into Romania and Ukraine, and along the north coast of Turkey into the Caucasus. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. The Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East The greatest concentration of species occurs in the Balkans. One atypical species (H. thibetanus) comes from western China; another atypical species (H. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National vesicarius) inhabits a small area on the border between Turkey and Syria. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية

The flowers have five "petals" (actually sepals) surrounding a ring of small, cup-like nectaries (petals modified to hold nectar). A petal (from Ancient Greek petalon "leaf" "thin plate" regarded as a highly modified leaf is one member or part of the corolla A sepal (from Latin separatus "separate" + petalum "petal" is a part of the flower of Angiosperms or flower plants Nectar is a Sugar -rich liquid produced by plants It is produced either by the Flowers in which it attracts pollinating animals or by extrafloral Nectar is a Sugar -rich liquid produced by plants It is produced either by the Flowers in which it attracts pollinating animals or by extrafloral The sepals do not fall as petals would, but remain on the plant, sometimes for many months. Recent research in Spain suggests that the persistent calyx contributes to the development of the seeds (Herrera 2005). A sepal (from Latin separatus "separate" + petalum "petal" is a part of the flower of Angiosperms or flower plants A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored

Although the flowers of some species may resemble wild roses (and despite some of their common names, such as "Christmas rose" and "Lenten rose"), hellebores do not belong to the rose family (Rosaceae). Rosa canina (lit Dog Rose, often called incorrectly Rosehip) is a variable scrambling Rose species native to Europe A rose is a perennial flowering Shrub or vine of the Genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae, that contains over 100 species The Rosaceae or Rose family is a large family of Plants with about 3000-4000 species in 100-160 genera

Species and subspecies

Caulescent species

These four species have leaves on their flowering stems (in H. vesicarius the stems die back each year; it also has basal leaves).

Acaulescent (stemless) species

These species have basal leaves. Helleborus foetidus, known variously as Stinking hellebore, Dungwort, or Bear's foot, is a member of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae Helleborus lividus is an evergreen herbaceous perennial from Majorca and possibly neraby Cabrera, Spain. They have no true leaves on their flower stalks (although there are leafy bracts where the flower stalks branch).

Other species names (now considered invalid) may be encountered in older literature, including H. hyemalis, H. polychromus, H. ranunculinus, H. trifolius.

Horticulture

Hellebores are widely grown in gardens for decorative purposes, as well as for their purported medicinal abilities and uses in witchcraft. Herbalism is a traditional Medicinal or Folk medicine practice based on the use of Plants and Plant extracts Herbalism is also known as Witchcraft, in various historical anthropological religious and mythological contexts is the use of certain kinds of Supernatural or magical powers They are particularly valued by gardeners for their winter and early spring flowering period; the plants are surprisingly frost-resistant and many are evergreen. Frost is the solid deposition of Water vapor from saturated air In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round Many species of hellebore have green or greenish-purple flowers and are of limited garden value, although Corsican hellebore (H. argutifolius), a robust plant with pale green, cup-shaped flowers and attractive leathery foliage, is widely grown. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. So is stinking hellebore or setterwort (H. foetidus), which has drooping clusters of small, pale green, bell-shaped flowers, often edged with maroon, which contrast delightfully with its dark evergreen foliage. In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round H. foetidus 'Wester Flisk', with red-flushed flowers and flower stalks, is becoming popular, as are more recent selections with golden-yellow foliage.

The so-called Christmas rose (H. niger), a traditional cottage garden favourite, bears its pure white flowers (which often age to pink) in the depths of winter; large-flowered cultivars are available, as are pink-flowered and double-flowered selections. The Cottage garden is a distinct style of garden that uses an informal design traditional materials dense plantings and a mixture of ornamental and edible plants on a smaller scale than A cultivar is a cultivated Plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics it is usually distinct from similar " Double-flowered " describes varieties of Flowers with extra Petals often containing flowers within flowers

The most popular hellebores for garden use, however, are undoubtedly H. orientalis and its colourful hybrids (H. In Biology, hybrid has two meanings The first meaning is the result of interbreeding between two animals or plants of different taxa. × hybridus). They flower in early spring, around the period of Lent, and are often known as Lenten hellebores, oriental hellebores, or Lenten roses. Lent, in some Christian denominations, is the forty-day-long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. They are excellent for bringing early colour to shady herbaceous borders and areas between deciduous shrubs and under trees. A herbaceous border is a collection of perennial Herbaceous plants (plants that live for more than two years and are soft-stemmed and non-woody arranged closely together Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including A shrub or Bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of Woody plant, distinguished from a Tree

Hellebore hybrids

Hellebore species and hybrids: Helleborus viridis (top left); H. foetidus (top right) with cross-section; flowers of various specimens of H. × hybridus, including doubles
Hellebore species and hybrids: Helleborus viridis (top left); H. foetidus (top right) with cross-section; flowers of various specimens of H. × hybridus, including doubles
A flower of H. × hybridus with olive-green nectaries visible behind the stamens
A flower of H. × hybridus with olive-green nectaries visible behind the stamens
H. × hybridus in a garden
H. × hybridus in a garden

Hybridising (deliberate and accidental) between H. orientalis and several other closely-related species and subspecies has vastly improved the colour-range of the flowers, which now extends from slate grey, near-black, deep purple and plum, through rich red and pinks to yellow, white and green. The outer surface of the sepals is often green-tinged, and as the flower ages it usually becomes greener inside and out; individual flowers often remain on the plant for a month or more. The inner surface of each sepal may be marked with veins, or dotted or blotched with pink, red or purple. "Picotee" flowers, whose pale-coloured sepals have narrow margins of a darker colour, are much sought-after, as are those with dark nectaries which contrast with the outer sepals.

Recent breeding programmes have also created double-flowered and anemone-centred plants. Ironically, doing this is actually reversing the evolutionary process in which hellebores' true petals had been modified into nectaries; it is usually these nectaries which become the extra petals in double, semi-double and anemone-centred flowers. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 Double hellebores [1]provide a very intesting varaition to the standard hellebore. They are generally easy to maintain and share the same planting conditions as the standard hellebore.

Semi-double flowers have one or two extra rows of petals; doubles have more. Their inner petals are generally very like the outer ones in colour and patterning. They are often of a similar length and shape, though they may be slightly shorter and narrower, and some are attractively waved or ruffled. By contrast, anemone-centred flowers have, cupped within the five normal outer petals, a ring of much shorter, more curved extra petals (sometimes trumpet-shaped, intermediate in appearance between petals and nectaries), which may be a different colour from the outer petals. These short, extra petals (sometimes known as "petaloids") drop off after the flower has been pollinated, leaving an apparently single flower, whereas doubles and semi-doubles tend to retain their extra petals after pollination. Pollination in angiosperms and Gymnosperms is the process that transfers pollen grains, which contain the male Gametes (sperm to where the female

Interspecific hybrids

Gardeners and nurserymen have also created hybrids between less closely-related species. A nursery is a place where Plants are propagated and grown to usable size The earliest was probably H. × nigercors, a cross between H. niger and H. argutifolius (formerly H. lividus subsp. corsicus or H. corsicus, hence the name) first made in 1931. H. × sternii, a cross between H. argutifolius and H. lividus, first exhibited in 1947, is named after the celebrated British plantsman Sir Frederick Stern. A plantsman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener (amateur or professional nurseryman or nurserywoman H. × ballardiae (H. niger crossed with H. lividus) and H. × ericsmithii (H. niger crossed with H. × sternii) similarly commemorate the noted British nursery owners Helen Ballard and Eric Smith. In recent years, Ashwood Nurseries (of Kingswinford in the English Midlands), already well-known for its Ashwood Garden Hybrids (H. Kingswinford is a suburban area (formerly a large village in the West Midlands county but previously in Staffordshire. This article is mainly about the English Midlands For other uses see Midlands (disambiguation. × hybridus singles, semi-doubles, doubles and anemone-centres), has created interesting hybrids between H. niger and H. thibetanus (called H. 'Pink Ice'), and between H. niger and H. vesicarius (called H. 'Briar Rose'). The gardenworthiness of these hybrids has still to be proven.

Folklore and historical usage

In the early days of medicine, two kinds of hellebore were recognized: black hellebore, which included various species of Helleborus, and white hellebore, now known as Veratrum album ("false hellebore"). Veratrum album, commonly known as the False Helleborine (also known as White Hellebore, European White Hellebore, White Veratrum Although the latter plant is highly toxic, containing veratrine and the teratogens cyclopamine and jervine, it is believed to be the "hellebore" used by Hippocrates as a purgative. Teratology stems from the Greek ( Genitive) meaning monster, or marvel and, meaning word, speech. Cyclopamine (11-deoxojervine is a naturally-occurring chemical that belongs to the group of steroidal jerveratrum Alkaloids It is a Teratogen isolated from the Jervine is a Steroidal Alkaloid, C27H39NO3 derived from the Veratrum plant genus Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos ( ca. 460 BC – ca Black hellebore was used by the ancients in paralysis, gout and other diseases, more particularly in insanity. Black hellebore is also toxic, causing tinnitus, vertigo, stupor, thirst, a feeling of suffocation, swelling of the tongue and throat, emesis and catharsis, bradycardia (slowing of the pulse), and finally collapse and death from cardiac arrest. Tinnitus (tɪˈnaɪtəs or /ˈtɪnɪtəs/ from the Latin word for " Ringing " is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding Vertigo (from the Latin vertere, to turn and the suffix -igo, a condition i Vomiting (also called throwing up, emesis) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's Stomach through the Mouth and sometimes the Catharsis ( Κάθαρσις) is a Greek word meaning "purification" "cleansing" or "clarification Bradycardia, as applied to adult medicine is defined as a resting Heart rate of under 60 beats per minute though it is seldom symptomatic until the rate drops below 50 beat/min In Medicine, a person's pulse is the throbbing of their arteries. A cardiac arrest, also known as cardiorespiratory arrest, cardiopulmonary arrest or circulatory arrest, is the abrupt cessation of normal circulation of [2]

Several legends surround the hellebore; in witchcraft it is believed to have ties to summoning demons. A legend ( Latin, legenda, "things to be read" is a Narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to The word conjuration (from Latin 'conjure' 'conjurare' to swear together can be interpreted in several different ways as an Invocation or Evocation (the latter Helleborus niger is commonly called the Christmas rose, due to an old legend that it sprouted in the snow from the tears of a young girl who had no gift to give the Christ child in Bethlehem. The Child Jesus, or Divine Infant, represents the infant Jesus until to the age of twelve Bethlehem ( بيت لحم,, lit "House of Meat" Βηθλεέμ Bethleém בית לחם Beit Lehem, lit "House of Bread" is a In Greek mythology, Melampus of Pylos used hellebore to save the daughters of the king of Argos from a madness, induced by Dionysus, that caused them to run naked through the city, crying, weeping, and screaming. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" In Greek mythology, Melampus, or Melampous (Μέλαμπος was a Legendary Soothsayer and Healer, originally of Pylos This article is about the Greek geographical feature and town Argos ( Greek: Ἄργος, Árgos ˈaɾɣos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman

During the Siege of Kirrha in 585 BC, hellebore was reportedly used by the Greek besiegers to poison the city's water supply. The First Sacred War ( 595 BC - 585 BC) was fought between the Amphictyonic League of Delphi and the city of Kirrha. The defenders were subsequently so weakened by diarrhea that they were unable to defend the city from assault.

Some historians believe that Alexander the Great died because of a hellebore overdose, when he took it as medication. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ'

Because of the similarity in appearance, the corn lily is sometimes mistaken for hellebore. Veratrum californicum ( corn lily, white or California false hellebore is a Poisonous plant native to mountain meadows in southwestern North

See also

References and External links

References

  1. ^ Double Hellebores, retrieved 10. 09. 07
  2. ^ 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica, citing Codronchius (Comm.... de elleb., 1610), Castellus (De helleb. epist., 1622), Horace (Sat. ii. 3.80-83, Ep. ad Pis. 300)..

Dictionary

hellebore

-noun

  1. A common garden flowering plant, Ranunculaceae helleborus, having supposed medicinal properties.
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