Helleborus niger

Helleborus niger

Taxobox
name = Christmas Rose


image_width = 250px
image_caption = Flowers in winter
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Ranunculales
familia = Ranunculaceae
genus = "Helleborus"
species = "H. niger"
binomial = "Helleborus niger"

"Helleborus niger" (Christmas Rose) is a plant in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae.

Description

"Helleborus niger" is a herbaceous plant with basal, palmate leaves on short stems. The flowers are white, borne in winter. It is a very toxic plant, contrary to medieval belief that it had medicinal properties.
In antiquity the most famous place for the black hellebore was the Phokian city of Antikyra [Theophrastus, HP ΙΧ 10.2-4; Dioscorides, De materia medica IV 148-152, 162; Plinius, HN XXV 48-52] in Greece.

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.Fact|date=January 2008

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 aruond them to make themselves invisible.

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Helleborus niger — Helleborus niger, schwarze Nießwurz, Giftpflanze aus der Familie der Ranunculaceae deren Wurzel in der Arzneikunde von großer Wichtigkeit ist. Letztere muß im Spätherbst gesammelt, gepulvert und wohlverschlossen aufbewahrt werden. – H. hiemalis… …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Helleborus niger — Rose de Noël Rose de Noël …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Helleborus niger — Rose de Noël …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Helleborus niger — Schneerose Schneerose (Helleborus niger) Systematik Ordnung: Hahnenfußartige (Ranunculales) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Helleborus niger —   Eléboro negro …   Wikipedia Español

  • Helleborus niger — baltažiedis heleboras statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Vėdryninių šeimos dekoratyvinis, vaistinis nuodingas augalas (Helleborus niger), paplitęs pietų Europoje. atitikmenys: lot. Helleborus niger angl. black helleborus; Christmas rose… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • Helleborus niger — Hellebore Hel le*bore, n. [L. helleborus, elleborus, Gr. ?, ?; cf. F. hell[ e]bore, ell[ e]bore.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Bot.) A genus of perennial herbs ({Helleborus}) of the Crowfoot family, mostly having powerfully cathartic and even poisonous… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Helleborus niger — baltažiedis eleboras statusas T sritis vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Helleborus niger angl. black Christmas rose; black hellebore; Christ hellebore; Christmas rose vok. Christrose; Schneerose; schwarze Nieswurz; Weihnachtsrose rus. морозник чeрный… …   Dekoratyvinių augalų vardynas

  • Helleborus niger — ID 39509 Symbol Key HENI6 Common Name black hellebore Family Ranunculaceae Category Dicot Division Magnoliophyta US Nativity Introduced to U.S. US/NA Plant Yes State Distribution MI, NY Growth Habit Forb/herb Durat …   USDA Plant Characteristics

  • Helleborus niger L. — Symbol HENI6 Common Name black hellebore Botanical Family Ranunculaceae …   Scientific plant list

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