Helleborus niger
Encyclopedia
Helleborus niger, commonly called Christmas rose or black hellebore, is an evergreen
perennial
flowering plant
in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae
. It is poisonous.
Although the flowers resemble wild roses
(and despite its common name), Christmas rose does not belong to the rose
family (Rosaceae
).
Helleborus niger is an evergreen
plant with dark, leathery, pedate leaves
carried on stems to 9–12 in (23–30 cm) tall. The large, flat flowers, borne on short stems from midwinter to early spring, are white, or occasionally pink.
There are two subspecies: H. niger subsp. niger and H. niger subsp. macranthus, with larger flowers (to 3.75 in/9 cm across). In the wild, H. niger subsp. niger is generally found in mountainous areas, over a range from Switzerland, southern Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and northern Italy. Helleborus niger subsp. macranthus is found only in northern Italy and possibly adjoining parts of Slovenia.
favourite, because it flowers in the depths of winter; large-flowered cultivar
s are available, as are pink-flowered and double-flowered
selections. It has been awarded an Award of Garden Merit
(AGM) H4 (hardy throughout the British Isles
) by the Royal Horticultural Society
, as has one of its hybrids (see below).
It can be difficult to grow well; acid soil
is unsuitable, as are poor, dry conditions and full sun. Moist, humus-rich, alkaline soil
in dappled shade is preferable. Leaf-mould can be dug in to improve heavy clay or light, sandy soils; lime can be added to 'sweeten' acid soils.
.
Helleborus niger has proved easier to cross with other hellebore species. Crosses between it and H. argutifolius (formerly known as H. corsicus) are called H. × nigercors. First made in 1931, the hybrid is a large, tough plant with white flowers flushed with green; they are said to be the best of all hellebores for cut flowers. It has been awarded an AGM
H4. Double-flowered plants are available.
Hybrids between H. niger and H. × sternii (itself a hybrid, between H. argutifolius and H. lividus) were originally called H. × nigristern, but this name has been changed in favour of H. × ericsmithii (commemorating the plantsman
who made the cross in the 1960s and introduced it in 1972, through The Plantsmen nursery). At their best, the hybrids combine the hardiness of H. niger and H. argutifolius, the large flowers of H. niger, and the leaf and flower colour of H. lividus. Cultivars such as 'Bob's Best', 'HGC Silvermoon', 'Ruby Glow' and 'Winter Moonbeam' are available.
Helleborus niger has also been crossed with H. lividus; the hybrid was known informally as H. × nigriliv, but its correct name is H. × ballardiae, commemorating Helen Ballard, the famous plantswoman who first made the cross in the early 1970s.
and hematemesis
.
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
.
One subspecies blooms at the abbey in England believed by some to have been established by St. Thomas. There is a source that claims it blooms near the new calendar date of January 6. This date had been Christmas Day under the old Julian calendar
. So when Christmas Day under the new calendar came around and the flower did not bloom, it was such a frightful omen that England did not adopt the Gregorian calendar
at that time in 1588; adoption had to wait until 1751.
In the Middle Ages, people strewed the flowers on the floors of their homes to drive out evil influences. They blessed their animals with it and used it to ward off the power of witches. These same people believed, however, that witches employed the herb in their spells and that sorcerers tossed the powdered herb into the air around them to make themselves invisible.
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"), which belongs to a different plant family, the Melanthiaceae
). "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
. Research in the 1970s, however, showed that the roots of H. niger do not contain the cardiotoxic compounds helleborin, hellebrin, and helleborein that are 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 Helleborus viridis, green hellebore.
In antiquity the most famous place for the black hellebore was the Phokian city of Antikyra
in Greece.
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae
Ranunculaceae are a family of about 1700 species of flowering plants in about 60 genera, distributed worldwide....
. It is poisonous.
Although the flowers resemble wild roses
Dog Rose
Rosa canina is a variable scrambling rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia....
(and despite its common name), Christmas rose does not belong to the rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
family (Rosaceae
Rosaceae
Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...
).
Description
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
plant with dark, leathery, pedate leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
carried on stems to 9–12 in (23–30 cm) tall. The large, flat flowers, borne on short stems from midwinter to early spring, are white, or occasionally pink.
There are two subspecies: H. niger subsp. niger and H. niger subsp. macranthus, with larger flowers (to 3.75 in/9 cm across). In the wild, H. niger subsp. niger is generally found in mountainous areas, over a range from Switzerland, southern Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and northern Italy. Helleborus niger subsp. macranthus is found only in northern Italy and possibly adjoining parts of Slovenia.
Horticulture
The plant is a traditional cottage gardenCottage garden
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. English in origin, the cottage garden depends on grace and charm rather than grandeur and formal structure...
favourite, because it flowers in the depths of winter; large-flowered cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s are available, as are pink-flowered and double-flowered
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. It has been awarded an Award of Garden Merit
Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit, or AGM, is an award made to garden plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society after a period of assessment by the appropriate committees of the Society...
(AGM) H4 (hardy throughout the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
) by the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
, as has one of its hybrids (see below).
It can be difficult to grow well; acid soil
Soil pH
The soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity in soils. pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the activity of hydrogen ions in solution. It ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. A pH below 7 is acidic and above 7 is basic. Soil pH is considered a master variable in soils as it...
is unsuitable, as are poor, dry conditions and full sun. Moist, humus-rich, alkaline soil
Alkali soils
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH , a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate...
in dappled shade is preferable. Leaf-mould can be dug in to improve heavy clay or light, sandy soils; lime can be added to 'sweeten' acid soils.
Cultivars
Since the 1950s, 'Potter's Wheel' has been one of the most famous names associated with H. niger. It originated with a self-sown seedling, given by Major G.H. Tristram of Dallington, Sussex, to Miss Hilda Davenport-Jones who had a nursery nearby, at Washfield, Kent. The seedling proved to be exceptionally large-flowered, but was too slow-growing to be 'bulked up' quickly, so she propagated it as a rigorously selected, uniform seed strain, rather than a vegetatively propagated cultivarCultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
.
- 'Potter's Wheel'
- 'Marion' (double-flowered; there are also other unnamed double selections)
- 'Praecox' (early flowering)
Hybrids
Nurserymen have tried for many years to cross H. niger with oriental hellebores (Lenten roses) H. × hybridus to increase the colour range available. Possible hybrids have been announced in the past, only to be disproved, but two crosses have been confirmed in recent years. 'Snow Queen', a white-flowered plant, arose spontaneously in Japan in the late 1990s, but does not look dramatically different from a good H. niger. Raised in 2000 by plant breeder David Tristram (whose father gave the first 'Potter's Wheel' to Washfield Nursery), Helleborus 'Walberton's Rosemary' is pink-flowered, extremely floriferous, and seems to be intermediate between its parents in many other characteristics.Helleborus niger has proved easier to cross with other hellebore species. Crosses between it and H. argutifolius (formerly known as H. corsicus) are called H. × nigercors. First made in 1931, the hybrid is a large, tough plant with white flowers flushed with green; they are said to be the best of all hellebores for cut flowers. It has been awarded an AGM
Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit, or AGM, is an award made to garden plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society after a period of assessment by the appropriate committees of the Society...
H4. Double-flowered plants are available.
Hybrids between H. niger and H. × sternii (itself a hybrid, between H. argutifolius and H. lividus) were originally called H. × nigristern, but this name has been changed in favour of H. × ericsmithii (commemorating the plantsman
Plantsman
A 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....
who made the cross in the 1960s and introduced it in 1972, through The Plantsmen nursery). At their best, the hybrids combine the hardiness of H. niger and H. argutifolius, the large flowers of H. niger, and the leaf and flower colour of H. lividus. Cultivars such as 'Bob's Best', 'HGC Silvermoon', 'Ruby Glow' and 'Winter Moonbeam' are available.
Helleborus niger has also been crossed with H. lividus; the hybrid was known informally as H. × nigriliv, but its correct name is H. × ballardiae, commemorating Helen Ballard, the famous plantswoman who first made the cross in the early 1970s.
Poisonous constituents
Helleborus niger contains protoanemonin, or ranunculin, which has an acrid taste and can cause burning of the eyes, mouth and throat, oral ulceration, gastroenteritisGastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis is marked by severe inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract involving both the stomach and small intestine resulting in acute diarrhea and vomiting. It can be transferred by contact with contaminated food and water...
and hematemesis
Hematemesis
Hematemesis or haematemesis is the vomiting of blood. The source is generally the upper gastrointestinal tract. Patients can easily confuse it with hemoptysis , although the latter is more common.-Signs:...
.
Folklore and early medicinal uses
Helleborus niger is commonly called the ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
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
Child Jesus
The Child Jesus represents Jesus from his Nativity to age 12. At 13 he was considered to be adult, in accordance with the Jewish custom of his time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries.The Child Jesus is frequently depicted in art, from around the third or fourth century...
in Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and 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...
.
One subspecies blooms at the abbey in England believed by some to have been established by St. Thomas. There is a source that claims it blooms near the new calendar date of January 6. This date had been Christmas Day under the old Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
. So when Christmas Day under the new calendar came around and the flower did not bloom, it was such a frightful omen that England did not adopt the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
at that time in 1588; adoption had to wait until 1751.
In the Middle Ages, people strewed the flowers on the floors of their homes to drive out evil influences. They blessed their animals with it and used it to ward off the power of witches. These same people believed, however, that witches employed the herb in their spells and that sorcerers tossed the powdered herb into the air around them to make themselves invisible.
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
Veratrum album
Veratrum 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 Melanthiaceae
Melanthiaceae
Melanthiaceae 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...
). "Black hellebore" was used by the ancients in paralysis, gout and other diseases, more particularly in insanity. "Black hellebore" is also toxic, causing tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...
, vertigo
Vertigo (medical)
Vertigo is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary. The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear...
, stupor, thirst, a feeling of suffocation, swelling of the tongue and throat, emesis and catharsis
Catharsis
Catharsis or katharsis is a Greek word meaning "cleansing" or "purging". It is derived from the verb καθαίρειν, kathairein, "to purify, purge," and it is related to the adjective καθαρός, katharos, "pure or clean."-Dramatic uses:...
, bradycardia
Bradycardia
Bradycardia , in the context of adult medicine, is the resting heart rate of under 60 beats per minute, though it is seldom symptomatic until the rate drops below 50 beat/min. It may cause cardiac arrest in some patients, because those with bradycardia may not be pumping enough oxygen to their heart...
(slowing of the pulse
Pulse
In medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows 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...
), and finally collapse and death from cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
. Research in the 1970s, however, showed that the roots of H. niger do not contain the cardiotoxic compounds helleborin, hellebrin, and helleborein that are 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 Helleborus viridis, green hellebore.
In antiquity the most famous place for the black hellebore was the Phokian city of Antikyra
Anticyra
Anticyra, or Antikyra the ancient name of a city in Phokis, Greece.-Name and Mycenaean past:Mod. name Antikyra; until the early 20th century it was called "Aspra Spitia", a name given after 1960 to a wholly new adjacent settlement, 3 km to the East; in Phocis, on the bay of Anticyra, in the...
in Greece.