Helleborus orientalis

Description

This perennial reaches 28 – tall, with glossy green palmate leaves composed of 7–9 leaflets with serrated leaf margins. Leathery in texture, the leaves are evergreen. The cup-shaped pendent flowers appear in late winter and spring, arising in groups of 1–4 on the ends of thick stems rising above the foliage. They have yellow stamens. All parts of the Lenten rose are poisonous.

Taxonomy

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck described the species in 1789, giving it its current name of Helleborus orientalis ("Hellébore du Levant"). Within the genus Helleborus, it has been classified in the section Helleborastrum, and is closely related to the other eight species in the section. These species are all highly variable and hybridise with each other freely.

The Latin species name orientalis means "eastern". The common name "Lenten" refers to the period of Lent.

Cultivation

The Lenten rose is suited to shaded or part-shaded positions, in soil rich in humus. Cultivated varieties have a wide array of colours. German planters began breeding H. orientalis in the mid-19th century, enhanced by new material from the Caucasus via St Petersburg Botanic Garden. New varieties were soon introduced to the United Kingdom. Interest peaked in the late 19th century, but the genus had fallen out of favour by the 1920s. The Lenten rose was revived in horticulture in the 1960s by Helen Ballard, who bred many new varieties. Cultivated varieties can have white, green, pink to maroon and purple or spotted flowers.

References

References

1. {{BSBI 2007
2. "''Helleborus orientalis'' Lam.". Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh.
3. "Helleborus orientalis". Missouri Botanic Garden.
4. "Helleborus orientalis (Christmas Rose, Helleborus, Lenten Rose) {{!}} North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox".
5. (1789). "Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique". Panckoucke; Plomteux.
6. (2001). "Nuclear DNA contents of all species of ''Helleborus'' (Ranunculaceae) discriminate between species and sectional divisions". Plant Systematics and Evolution.
7. (2001). "Molecular Phylogeny of Helleborus (Ranunculaceae), with an Emphasis on the East Asian-Mediterranean Disjunction". Taxon.
8. Simpson, D.P.. (1979). "Cassell's Latin Dictionary". Cassell Ltd..
9. "Lenten Rose – A Perennial Getting Some Well Deserved Attention". Georgia Department of Agriculture.
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11. "''Helleborus orientalis''". RHS.
12. (2016). "Garden Flora: The Natural and Cultural History of the Plants In Your Garden". Timber Press.
13. (2015). "The Carefree Garden: Letting Nature Play Her Part". TouchWood Editions.
14. (2012). "Rocky Mountain Gardener's Handbook: All You Need to Know to Plan, Plant & Maintain a Rocky Mountain Garden – Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada". Cool Springs Press.