Helleborus foetidus

Helleborus foetidus, known variously as stinking hellebore, dungwort, or bear's foot, is a member of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to western Europe, from England south to Portugal, and east to Germany and Italy.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall and 100 cm across, with a thick succulent stem and evergreen glossy leaves.

Flowering is in spring, usually on lime-rich soils. The drooping cup-shaped flowers are yellowish-green, often with a purple edge to the five petal-like sepals on strongly upright stems.

The flowers, typically for the family, contain numerous stamens as well as up to ten nectaries which make them attractive to bees and other insects. Each flower produces up to five (usually three) wrinkled follicles. Foliage is pungent when crushed.

All parts of the plant are poisonous, containing glycosides. Symptoms of intoxication include violent vomiting and delirium.

Yeast colonise the nectaries of stinking hellebore and their presence, has been found to raise the temperature of the flower, which may aid in attracting pollinators to the flower by increasing the evaporation of volatile organic compounds. It was the first species in which this effect was discovered.

It is grown in gardens for its handsome evergreen foliage and large numbers of green, bell-shaped flowers borne in late winter.

The cultivar 'Green Giant' has very bright green flowers and finely divided foliage; 'Miss Jekyll' has fragrant flowers, intensity varying with the time of day; 'Wester Flisk Group' has red-tinted leaves and stems and gray-green flowers; the 'Sierra Nevada Group' is dwarf, reaching 30 cm.

Helleborus foetidus prefers woodland conditions with deep, fertile, moist, humus rich, well-drained soil, and dappled shade.

The species is, however, drought tolerant. It often occurs naturally on chalk or limestone soils. Propagation is by division or from seed, which can be prolific, naturalising well in ideal conditions.



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helleborus_foetidus


See Also: Bouquet, Roses, Floral