Commonly known as
hellebores, members of the genus
Helleborus comprise approximately 20 species (ongoing fieldwork may see this figure change) of
herbaceousA herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennialA perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants...
flowering plants in the family
RanunculaceaeRanunculaceae is a family of flowering plants also known as the "buttercup family" or "crowfoot family". The family name is derived from the genus Ranunculus. Members include Anemone , Ranunculus , Aconitum , and Clematis...
, within which it gave its name to the
tribeIn biology, a tribe — or infrafamily — is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.-See also:* Rank * Rank *International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
of Helleboreae. Many species are poisonous.
The genus is native to much of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, from western
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
and
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, eastward across the Mediterranean region and central Europe into
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
and
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
, and along the north coast of
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
into the
CaucasusThe Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region between at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain ....
.
Commonly known as
hellebores, members of the genus
Helleborus comprise approximately 20 species (ongoing fieldwork may see this figure change) of
herbaceousA herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennialA perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants...
flowering plants in the family
RanunculaceaeRanunculaceae is a family of flowering plants also known as the "buttercup family" or "crowfoot family". The family name is derived from the genus Ranunculus. Members include Anemone , Ranunculus , Aconitum , and Clematis...
, within which it gave its name to the
tribeIn biology, a tribe — or infrafamily — is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.-See also:* Rank * Rank *International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
of Helleboreae. Many species are poisonous.
Distribution and description
The genus is native to much of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, from western
Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
and
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, eastward across the Mediterranean region and central Europe into
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
and
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
, and along the north coast of
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
into the
CaucasusThe Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region between at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain ....
. The greatest concentration of species occurs in the
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. One atypical species (
H. thibetanus) comes from western
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
; another atypical species (
H. vesicarius) inhabits a small area on the border between Turkey and
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
.
The flowers have five "
petalA petal is one member or part of the corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its bright color...
s" (actually sepals) surrounding a ring of small, cup-like nectaries (petals modified to hold nectar). 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
calyxA sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Sepals in most flowers are green and lie under the more conspicuous petals. As a collective unit the sepals form a calyx, whereas the collection of petals is called the corolla...
contributes to the development of the
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s (Herrera 2005).
Although the flowers of some species may resemble
wild rosesRosa canina is a variable scrambling rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia.It is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from 1-5 m, though sometimes it can scramble higher into the crowns of taller trees. Its stems are covered with small, sharp, hooked spines,...
(and despite some of their common names, such as "
Christmas rose" and "
Lenten rose"), hellebores do not belong to the
roseA rose is a perennial flower shrub or vine of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae, that contains over 100 species and comes in a variety of colours. The species form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles...
family (
RosaceaeThe Rosaceae or rose family is a large family of plants, with about 3000 species in 100 genera . The name is derived from the genus Rosa...
).
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).
- Helleborus argutifolius – Corsican hellebore
- 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....
– stinking hellebore or setterwort
- Helleborus lividus
Helleborus lividus is an evergreen herbaceous perennial from Majorca and possibly neraby Cabrera, Spain. The plant has deep green or bluish green, glossy leaves and light green flowers opening nearly flat appearing in mid-winter to early spring....
- Helleborus vesicarius
Acaulescent (stemless) species
These species have basal leaves. They have no true leaves on their flower stalks (although there are leafy bracts where the flower stalks branch).
- Helleborus atrorubens
- Helleborus croaticus
- Helleborus cyclophyllus
Helleborus cyclophyllus is a flowering perennial native to Albania, Greece, and Bulgaria, and environs. It is similar in appearance to other hellebores found in the Balkan region. It is acaulescent, meaning it lacks a stem with leaves, instead sending up a leafless flower stalk. The green leaves...
- Helleborus dumetorum
- Helleborus abruzzicus
- Helleborus liguricus
- Helleborus boconei
- Helleborus multifidus
- Helleborus multifidus subsp. hercegovinus
- Helleborus multifidus subsp. istriacus
- Helleborus multifidus subsp. multifidus
- Helleborus niger
Helleborus niger, commonly called Christmas rose or black hellebore, is an evergreen perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae...
– Christmas rose or black hellebore
- Helleborus niger subsp. macranthus (syn. H. niger major)
- Helleborus niger subsp. niger
- Helleborus odorus
- Helleborus odorus subsp. laxus
- Helleborus odorus subsp. odorus
- Helleborus orientalis – Lenten rose, Lenten hellebore, oriental hellebore (N.B. most of the Lenten hellebores in gardens are now considered to be H. × hybridus)
- Helleborus orientalis subsp. abchasicus (syn. H. abchasicus)
- Helleborus orientalis subsp. guttatus
- Helleborus orientalis subsp. orientalis (syn. H. caucasicus, H. kochii)
- Helleborus purpurascens
- Helleborus thibetanus (syn. H. chinensis)
- Helleborus torquatus
- Helleborus viridis - green hellebore or bear's-foot
- Helleborus occidentalis (formerly H. viridis subsp. occidentalis)
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 abilitiesHerbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, and phytotherapy...
and uses in
witchcraftWitchcraft, in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers. Witchcraft can refer to the use of such powers in order to inflict harm or damage upon members of a community or their property...
. They are particularly valued by gardeners for their winter and early spring flowering period; the plants are surprisingly
frostFrost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapor available. Frost is also usually translucent in appearance. There are many types of...
-resistant and many are
evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
. 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. 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 evergreenIn botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
foliage. 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 gardenThe 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. English in origin, the cottage garden depends on grace and charm rather than grandeur and formal structure...
favourite, bears its pure white flowers (which often age to pink) in the depths of winter; large-flowered cultivarA cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of desired characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when propagated it retains those characteristics....
s are available, as are pink-flowered and double-flowered"Double-flowered" describes varieties of flowers with extra petals, often containing flowers within flowers. The double-flowered trait is often noted alongside the scientific name with the abbreviation fl. pl....
selections.
The most popular hellebores for garden use, however, are undoubtedly H. orientalis
and its colourful hybrids (H.
× hybridus
). They flower in early spring, around the period of LentLent, in Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter.The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus,...
, and are often known as Lenten hellebores, oriental hellebores, or Lenten roses. They are excellent for bringing early colour to shady herbaceous borderA herbaceous border is a collection of perennial herbaceous plants arranged closely together, usually to create a dramatic effect through colour, shape or large scale. The term herbaceous border is mostly in use in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth...
s and areas between deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s and under trees.
Hellebore hybrids
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
evolutionIn biology, evolution is change in the genetic material of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. Though changes produced in any one generation are normally small, differences accumulate with each generation and can, over time, cause substantial changes in the population, a...
ary 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. Double hellebores provide a very intesting variation 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
pollinatedPollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilization and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains, which contain the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
, leaving an apparently single flower, whereas doubles and semi-doubles tend to retain their extra petals after pollination.
Interspecific hybrids
Gardeners and
nurserymenA nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. There are retail nurseries which sell to the general public, wholesale nurseries which sell only to...
have also created hybrids between less closely-related species. 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 plantsmanA plantsman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener , nurseryman or nurserywoman. "Plantsman" can refer to a male or female person, though the terms plantswoman, or even plantsperson, are sometimes used....
Sir Frederick Stern. 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 KingswinfordKingswinford is a suburban area in the West Midlands county but previously in Staffordshire.Mentioned in the Domesday Book its name relates to a ford for the King's swine - or alternatively "King Wynn's Ford" is a possible explanation. The current significance is probably in tourism, education...
in the English MidlandsThe English Midlands, or the Midlands is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
), already well-known for its Ashwood Garden Hybrids (H.
× 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.
Medicinal Uses
Helleborus orientalis
subsp. orientalis
(syn. H. caucasicus
) is used as a herb for weight lossWeight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...
in Russian medicine.
Poisonous constituents
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 albumVeratrum album, commonly known as the False Helleborine Veratrum album, commonly known as the False Helleborine Veratrum album, commonly known as the False Helleborine (also known as White Hellebore, European White Hellebore, White Veratrum; syn...
("false hellebore"), which belongs to a different plant family, the MelanthiaceaeMelanthiaceae is a family of flowering perennial herbs in the Northern Hemisphere. The family has been recognized by relatively few taxonomists, and the circumscription has varied...
. Although the former plant is highly toxic, containing veratrine and the teratogens cyclopamineCyclopamine is a naturally-occurring chemical that belongs to the group of steroidal jerveratrum alkaloids. It is a teratogen isolated from the corn lily that can lead to cyclopia ....
and jervineJervine is a steroidal alkaloid with molecular formula C27H39NO3 which is derived from the Veratrum plant genus...
, it is believed to be the "hellebore" used by HippocratesHippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos - Greek: ; Hippokrátēs was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles, and was considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine...
as a purgative. California corn lilyVeratrum californicum is a poisonous plant native to mountain meadows in southwestern North America and the Rocky Mountains...
is similar in appearance to V. album and has sometimes been mistaken for it.
"Black hellebore" was used by the ancients in paralysis, gout and other diseases, more particularly in insanity. "Black hellebore" is also toxic, causing
tinnitusTinnitus is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound....
,
vertigoVertigo is a specific type of dizziness, a major symptom of a balance disorder. It is the sensation of spinning or swaying while the body is actually stationary with respect to the surroundings.The effects of vertigo may be slight...
, stupor, thirst, a feeling of suffocation, swelling of the tongue and throat, emesis and
catharsisCatharsis is a Greek word meaning "purification","purging", "cleansing" or "clarification." It is derived from the infinitive verb of transliterated as kathairein "to purify, purge," and adjective katharos "pure or clean."-Dramaturgical uses:...
,
bradycardiaBradycardia , 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....
(slowing of the
pulseIn medicine, a person's pulse is the arterial palpation of a heartbeat. It can be palpated in any place that allows for an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the ankle joint...
), and finally collapse and death from
cardiac arrestA cardiac arrest, also known as cardiopulmonary arrest or circulatory arrest, is the abrupt cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively during systole....
. Although Helleborus niger (black hellebore or Christmas rose) contains protoanemonin, or ranunculin, which has an acrid taste and can cause burning of the eyes, mouth and throat, oral ulceration,
gastroenteritisGastroenteritis is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, involving both the stomach and the small intestine and resulting in acute diarrhea...
and
hematemesisHematemesis or haematemesis is the vomiting of blood. The source is generally the upper gastrointestinal tract...
, research in the 1970s showed that its roots do not contain the cardiotoxic compounds helleborin, hellebrin, and helleborein responsible for the lethal reputation of "black hellebore". It seems that earlier studies may have used a commercial preparation containing a mixture of material from other species such as H. viridis
, green hellebore.
Folklore and historical usage
Several legendA legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s surround the hellebore; in witchcraft it is believed to have ties to summoning demonIn religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God. A demon is frequently depicted as a force that may be conjured and insecurely controlled...
s. Helleborus niger is commonly called the
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
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 childThe Child Jesus represents Jesus from his birth to the age of twelve. At thirteen he was considered to have become adult, in accordance with both the Jewish custom of his own time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries...
in
BethlehemBethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
.
In
GreekAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
mythologyMythology is the study of myths and or of a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story;...
,
MelampusIn Greek mythology, Melampus, or Melampous , was a legendary soothsayer and healer, originally of Pylos, who ruled at Argos. He was the introducer of the worship of Dionysus, according to Herodotus, who asserted that his powers as a seer were derived from the Egyptians and that he could understand...
of
PylosThis article is about the Greek geographical feature and town. For the mythological figure see Pylus . For board game see Pylos ....
used hellebore to save the daughters of the king of
ArgosArgos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour .-Name:The region of Argos is known as the Argolis, Argolid, or Argeia...
from a madness, induced by
DionysusIn classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos is the god of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, amongst whom Greek mythology treated him as a late arrival...
, that caused them to run naked through the city, crying, weeping, and screaming.
During the
Siege of KirrhaThe First Sacred War was fought between the Amphictyonic League of Delphi and the city of Kirrha. The conflict arose due to Kirrha's frequent robbery and mistreatment of pilgrims going to Delphi and their encroachments upon Delphic land. The war resulted in the defeat and destruction of Kirrha...
in 585 BC, hellebore was reportedly used by the Greek besiegers to poison the city's water supply. The defenders were subsequently so weakened by diarrhea that they were unable to defend the city from assault.
Some historians believe that
Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
died because of a hellebore overdose, when he took it as medication.