HELLEBORUS. 



base, coarsely serrated near the point. Scape shorter than the petiole 

 1-2-flowered, with ovate lacerated bracts immediately beneath the 

 calyx. Sepals 5, ovate or roundish, large, white slightly tinged with 

 pink, eventually becoming green. Petals green, tubular, shorter than 

 the stamens. Carpels 6-8, follicular, many seeded. — Similar in 

 effect to H. orientalis ; and long supposed to be the genuine black 

 hellebore of the ancients. It is a narcotic acrid poison. Many 

 cases of the fatal employment of this root are recorded. Two persons 

 having taken a decoction of it, were seized in 45 minutes with 

 vomiting, then with delirium, and afterwards with violent convulsions. 

 One died in 2 hours and a half, the other in less than 2 hours. It is 

 a dangerous drastic, and is employed as an emmenagogue and hydra- 

 gogue. The fibres of the rhizoma are the part used. 



24. H. orientalis Gars. exot. t. 19./ B. DC. prodr. i. 4^6. 

 S. and C. ii. t. 87. — EXKetopoq ^cXa?, Dioscorides. H. officinalis 

 Fl. Grcec. t. 583. — Mountainous broken ground in Greece and 

 the Levant. 



Rhizoma black, thick, with cylindrical fibres. Radical leaves stalked 

 pedate, downy beneath ; their segments almost sessile, oblong, acutely 

 serrulate. Stem taller than the leaves, corymbose, 3-5-flowered. 

 Floral leaves subsessile, palmated; the lobes 3-5, oblong, acute, 

 serrulate. Calyx purple, with oval, very blunt, sepals. Capsules 5. — 

 The root was formerly much celebrated in mania, epilepsy, and dropsy. 

 It is still used in the Levant, and is called " Zopteme " by the Turks, 

 2/crtp0?/ by the Greeks. It is acrid and violently cathartic. 



25. H. viridis Linn, sp.pl. 784. Fl. Lond. t. 34. Eng. Bot. 

 t. 200. DC. prodr. i. 47. — In the woods and thickets of Europe 

 on a chalky soil. 



Rhizoma fleshy, black, with numerous long stout fibres. Leaves bright 

 deep green, quite smooth, pedate; the cauline ones subsessile and 

 palmate; the segments oblong, undivided, entire at the base, somewhat 

 serrated at the apex. Stems often forked, Hfoot high. Flowers few, 

 terminal, and axillary, stalked, mostly solitary, drooping, green in every 

 part. Sepals roundish-ovate. Capsules 3-4, short, wrinkled. — 

 This is said by Stevenson and Churchill to be the best substitute for 

 H. orientalis, though less active. Mr. Pereira says it is rarely or never 

 employed. 



26. H. fcetidus Linn. sp. pi. 784. Woodv. t. 1 9. Eng. Bot. 

 t. 613. DC. prodr. i. 47. S. and C i. t. 21. — Thickets and 

 waste ground, chiefly in a chalky soil in the more western parts 

 of Europe. 



Stem leafy, many-flowered. Leaves stalked, pedate, of a livid green 

 colour, quite smooth, with linear-oblong or lanceolate serrated seg- 

 ments ; the upper ones gradually losing their blade, and changing into 

 pale lanceolate, entire bracts. Flowers numerous, panicled, droop- 

 ing. Petals nearly erect, stained with dull purple about the edges. 

 — Similar in effects to H. niger. The leaves are emetic and purga- 

 tive. They have been strongly recommended as a vermifuge against 

 the large round worm (Ascaris lumbricoides). Pereira. 

 7 B 4 



