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Helleborus
Family: Ranunculaceae
Helleborus image
Paul Rothrock  
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Bruce A. Ford in Flora of North America (vol. 3)
Herbs [subshrubs], perennial, from tough, short rhizomes [rhizomes absent]. Leaves basal and cauline, basal leaf much larger [all leaves cauline], petiolate; cauline leaves alternate. Leaf blade pedately or palmately compound or deeply parted [undivided], lobes narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate or lanceolate, margins sharply toothed [entire]. Inflorescences terminal, 3-4-flowered cymes, to 25 cm or flowers solitary or paired; bracts ±leaflike, divided, not forming involucre. Flowers bisexual, radially symmetric; sepals persistent in fruit [not persistent], 5, yellowish green [white, pink, or purple], plane, ovate to elliptic, 19-30(-50) mm; petals 5-15, distinct, green or brown, funnel-shaped, ± 2-lipped, clawed, 4-8 mm; nectary in center of 'funnel'; stamens 30-60; filaments filiform; staminodes absent between stamens and pistils; pistils [2-]3-6[-10], simple, proximally connate [distinct or completely connate]; ovules several per pistil; style present. Fruits follicles [capsules], aggregate, sessile, oblong, sides with prominent transverse veins; beak terminal, straight, 5-15 mm. Seeds usually ± carinate. x = 8. Although other species of Helleborus are grown as ornamentals, only the green-flowered H . viridis appears to persist after cultivation. Helleborus niger Linnaeus (Christmas-rose) is a more popular ornamental because of its showy, white to pinkish flowers. It does not appear to persist away from cultivation; it was reported as an escape in 1880 at Sennet, New York, and in 1919 in Washtenaw County, Michigan (R. S. Mitchell and J. K. Dean 1982; E. G. Voss 1972+, vol. 2). Helleborus niger can be distinguished from H . viridis by its flower color and its simple, distal cauline leaves with entire margins. Both living and dried plants of all species of Helleborus are extremely poisonous. Plants contain a cardiac glycoside (helleborin), which acts directly on the heart muscle, causing convulsions, delirium, and sometimes death. Poisoning from contaminated hay has been known to cause livestock fatalities in some areas (R. S. Mitchell and J. K. Dean 1982).

Vascular plants of NE US and adjacent Canada
Sep 5, large, petaloid; pet none; stamens numerous, the outer 8-10 modified into staminodes, short, upcurved, basally clawed, distally clavate or obovoid, hollow and somewhat 2-lipped; pistils mostly 3 or 4, with erect, slender style; fr follicular; poisonous perennial herbs with alternate, palmately cleft (or the upper entire) lvs and large white, green, or purple fls terminating the stem and branches. 20, Eurasia.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

©The New York Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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Show all taxa
Helleborus caucasicus
Image of Helleborus caucasicus
Helleborus corsicus
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not available
Helleborus foetidus
Image of Helleborus foetidus
Helleborus hyemalis
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not available
Helleborus multifidus
Image of Helleborus multifidus
Helleborus niger
Image of Helleborus niger
Helleborus odorus
Image of Helleborus odorus
Helleborus orientalis
Image of Helleborus orientalis
Helleborus purpurascens
Image of Helleborus purpurascens
Helleborus thibetanus
Image of Helleborus thibetanus
Helleborus viridis
Image of Helleborus viridis
The National Science Foundation
Developments of SEINet, Symbiota, and associated specimen databases have been supported by National Science Foundation Grants (DBI 9983132, BRC 0237418, DBI 0743827, DBI 0847966)