2 New Books ** Edible Plants: An inspirational guide to choosing and growing unusual edible plants and Woodland Gardening (Forest) [Paperback]. more >>
Search Page Content
   Bookmark and Share
   
    By donating to PFAF, you can help support and expand our activities
    Plant Suppliers: Click here for a List
Helleborus viridis - L.                
                 
Common Name Green Hellebore
Family Ranunculaceae
Synonyms
Known Hazards All parts of the plant are poisonous[9, 10, 65], this poison can possibly be absorbed through the skin[76].
Habitats Woods, scrub and sunny banks on moist chalk and limestone soils[9, 17, 187].
Range Central and western Europe, including Britain.
Edibility Rating  
Medicinal Rating  
Care
Fully Hardy Moist Soil Semi-shade

Summary       

Physical Characteristics       
 icon of manicon of flower
Helleborus viridis is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.3 m (1ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in).
It is hardy to zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from Feb to April, and the seeds ripen from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies.


Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist soil.
Helleborus viridis Green Hellebore


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Helleborus_viridis3.jpg
Helleborus viridis Green Hellebore
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Llez
   
Habitats       
Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Ground Cover;
Edible Uses                                         
None known
Medicinal Uses


Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Anthelmintic;  Antiemetic;  Cardiac;  Cathartic;  Diuretic;  Emetic;  Emmenagogue;  Hypotensive;  Irritant;  Narcotic;  Parasiticide;  
Purgative.

The root is anthelmintic, cardiac, cathartic, diuretic, emetic, emmenagogue, irritant, violently narcotic and a drastic purgative[4, 9, 21, 46]. The dried root is used, it contains the alkaloids nervine, pseudo-nervine and veratridine[213]. It is best to harvest the root in the autumn[213]. The plant is useful for reducing blood pressure in various conditions of hypertension[213].
Other Uses
Parasiticide.

A decoction of the roots is used as a parasiticide against body lice, fleas etc[76, 213]. This use is somewhat dangerous, see the notes above on toxicity. Plants are suitable for ground cover when spaced about 45cm apart each way[208].
Cultivation details                                         
Cultivation of this plant is not always easy, it prefers a rich limy soil in partial shade[187]. One report says that the plant requires an alkaline soil[17]. Succeeds in any good garden soil[1], preferring a moist well-drained rich loam in a sheltered position in partial shade[1, 4, 31, 111]. Succeeds when grown in the shade of a north-facing wall[233]. Does not object to lime[1]. Grows well in heavy clay soils[200]. Dislikes drought. Slugs are very fond of this plant and it will probably require some protection from them[187]. The various species in this genus hybridize freely[95]. Plants resent root disturbance and should be placed in their permanent positions whilst still small[200]. A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[54].
                                                                                 
Propagation                                         
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[1, 134]. Sow stored seed as early in the year as possible[1], it usually germinates in the autumn to spring. Seed can take 18 months to germinate. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. This species produces flowering plants in 2 - 3 years from seed[200]. Division after flowering or in autumn. Take care since the plant resents disturbance[111, 200].
Plant Suppliers: Click here for a List

      You can download this page as a PDF

Expert comment                                         
 
      
Author                                         
L.
                                                                                 
Botanical References                                         
17200
                                                                                 
Links / References                                         

[1]F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4]Grieve. A Modern Herbal.
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[9]Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants.
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[17]Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles.
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[21]Lust. J. The Herb Book.
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[31]Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.
[46]Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants.
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[54]Hatfield. A. W. How to Enjoy your Weeds.
Interesting reading.
[76]Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man.
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
[95]Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada.
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.
[111]Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials.
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
[134]Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2.
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
[187]Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2.
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[208]Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.
[213]Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food.
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[233]Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

Readers comment                                         
 
Elizabeth H.
Joseph Woodard Tue Jul 18 2006

The Genus Helleborus: Helleborus viridis

QR Code

What's this?

This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to our website pages. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by mobile phone (smartphone) cameras. This QR Code is unique to this page. All plant pages have their own unique code. For more information about QR Codes click here.
1. Copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, website, magazines, newspaper etc and even t-shirts.
2. Smartphone users scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to the webpage the QR Code came from.
3. Smartphone users quickly have information on a plant directly for the pfaf.org website on their phone.
Rate This Plant                                         
Please rate this plants for how successful you have found it to be. You will need to be logged in to do this. Our intention is not to create a list of 'popular' plants but rather to highlight plants that may be rare and unusual and that have been found to be useful by website users. This hopefully will encourage more people to use plants that they possibly would not have considered before.
     
                                                                                 
Add a comment/link                                         

If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at admin@pfaf.org. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.

* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.

Subject : Helleborus viridis  
             

Links To add a link to another website with useful info add the details here
Name of Site
URL of Site
Details

                                        
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
   
 

All the information contained in these pages is Copyright (C) Plants For A Future, 1996-2012.
Plants For A Future is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Charity No. 1057719, Company No. 3204567,
Web Design & Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Some information cannot be used for commercial reasons or be modified (but some can). Please view the copyright link for more information.