Helleborus
(from Helleboros, the old Greek name used by Theophrastus; probably of foreign origin). Helle-bore. ORD. Ranunculaceae. A genus comprising about a dozen species of ornamental hardy, erect, perennial herbs, inhabiting South Europe and Western Asia. Flowers white, greenish, yellow or purple, rather large, solitary, or paniculate; sepals five, regular, usually persistent; petals small, tubular. Leaves palmate or pedate, leathery. Hellebores thrive in almost any ordinary garden soil, but a rich loam, with a moist, rather shady, perfectly drained situation, suits them best. A top-dressing of good rotten manure, about the end of March, after the plants have finished flowering, is very beneficial. Hellebores should be planted so that they may be conveniently shaded when in flower, as, being usually produced in winter and early spring, the blossoms--the white sorts especially--are damaged with mud splashes. H. niger and its varieties, popularly known as Christmas Roses, are largely cultivated for the use of their flowers, in a cut state, in mid-winter. The roots may be lifted, and placed in a gentle heat, under glass; but they should not be forced much. The flowers will be better, if only the protection of a frame or hand glass is afforded them, in the open ground; or they may be improved by cutting, and allowing them to expand in water, in a warm house. All are easily increased by root divisions, but the stock should be strong and healthy. Seeds may also be sown so soon as ripe; but this mode of propagation is very slow, and scarcely worth the trouble involved, unless new varieties are desired.
H. abchasicus (Abchasian). fl. green or purplish, nutant, about 2in. across; sepals oval, waved, not overlapping each other, petals numerous; anthers yellow. January to March l. about 1ft. in diameter, with five to seven spathulate-lanceolate, widely spreading, smooth, toothed leaflets. h. 1ft. Caucasus. Evergreen.
H. atrorubens (dark-red). fl. deep purple when young, with the edges and centre ultinately dull purple; sepals roundish, about 1in. long. March. l., radical ones pedate; cauline ones almost sessile, palmate. Stems branched, two to four-flowered. h. 18in. South Europe, 1820. (B. M. 4581.) H. caucasicus (Caucasian). fl. pale green; sepals much imbricated, about 1 1/2in. long. l. very glossy, oblong, 3in. to 4in. broad. h. 1 1/2ft. Caucasus, 1853.
H. c. punctatus (dotted). A garden hybrid, with rosy-coloured dotted sepals.
H. colchicus (Colchican). fl. deep bright purple; sepals somewhat round and flat, much imbricated; stamens yellow. January to March. l. very large, pedate, dentate, distinctly veined. Stems three to six-flowered. h. 18in. Asia Minor. (R. G. 293.)
H. foetidus (foetid). Bear's Foot. fl. green, nearly 1in. across, disposed in panicled cymes; sepals edged with brown, which turns to a purplish tint. December to April. l. alternate, persistent, dull green, small, pedate; segments linear, shallowly, inciso-serrate. h. 2ft. Europe (Britain). Very distinct and ornamental.(Sy. En. B. 45.)
H. lividus (livid). fl. pale green, ten to twenty in a deltoid corymb; sepals nearly flat and spreading. March. l. trifid, glabrous; segments oblong-lanceolate, acute, sharply toothed. Stems erect, bearing eight or ten leaves crowded near the base, below the inflorescence. h. 1 1/2ft. Corsica. (B. M. 72.)
H. niger(black).* Christmas Rose. fl., when protected by glass, pure white, 2in. to 3in. across; scapes stout, leafless, one to four-flowered. Winter. l. radical, large, pedate, persistent; segments oblanceolate-rhomboid, shallowly incised. h. 6in. to 18in. Central and Eastern Europe, Western Asia, 1596. The roots of this species are occasionally used in medicine. 213. (B. M. 8.) There are two or three varieties of this fine species: altifolius usually known as major, and also as maximus, has very large flowers, measuring about 4in. across; it is one of the best of the genus. angustifolius (SYN. minor) has both foliage and flowers smaller than the typical species, and comes into bloom much earlier. There is also a form having foliage distinctly margined with white.
H. odorus (sweet-scented). fl. green, sweet-scented, drooping, 2in. across; corymb three or four-flowered. February to April. l. pale green, veined with white, one or two in a tuft to a flowering stem, pedate; segments six to eight, lanceolate, regularly toothed. h. 1 1/2ft. Eastern Europe, 1817. (B. R. 1643.)
H. o. purpurascens (purplish). fl. purplish-red, about 2in. across; sepals roundish, imbricated, incurved at the edges; stamens and anthers creamy-white. Stem one or two-flowered. h. 6in. to 10in. Hungary, 1817.
H. olympicus (Olympian).* fl. purplish; sepals round, about 1in. long and broad. Spring. l. digitate-pedate, or palmate, with five to seven linear-oblong, smooth, dentate-serrate lobes. Stems two or three-flowered. h. 2ft. Greece, 1840. (B. R. 1842, 58.)
H. orientalis (Eastern). fl. rose-coloured, large; sepals much imbricated, spreading; flowering stems with two to six blossoms, and large, deeply palmately cut, foliaceous bracts. February to May. l. shortly pedate, persistent, pubescent beneath; segments seven to nine, oblanceolate-oblong, not palmately cut, serrate. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Greece, 1839. Several forms, usually described as species, are mere varieties of H. orientalis. Among others, the following may be enumerated: antiquorum differs from the type by its glabrous leaves, produced two in a tuft; flowers white, softly toned with pink and grey. guttatus, flowers 2in. across, white; sepals spotted with purple; leaves two in a tuft, with a flowering stem. Some of the hybrids of H. orientalis are: elegans, iridescens, and punctatus.
H. viridis (green). fl. bright green; flowering stem with five or six distinct blossoms, and large, deeply palmately cut, foliaceous bracts; sepals roundish-ovate. Spring. l. pedate, with crowded, oblanceolate, serrated segments. h. 1 1/2ft. Europe (Britain), &c. (Sy. En. B. 44.)