126 WHITE TO GREEN 



FALSE HELLEBORE 



Vcratrum viridc. Lily Famil}- 



Stems: stout, tall, very leafy. Leaves: acute, strongly veined, short- 

 petioled, sheathing, the upper ones successively narrower, those of the 

 inflorescence small. Flowers: panicles long, pubescent, den.sely many- 

 flowered, its lower branches spreading. 



This is by far the largest and handsomest green-flowered 

 plant which grows in the mountains. Its foliage is immense 

 in size, bright green, and the leaves have a peculiar plaited 

 appearance. In the early spring the stout solid spears of the 

 False Hellebore push their way up through the soil and soon 

 begin to unfold with the increasing warmth of the sun's rays. 

 Then the long stiff spikes and graceful pendent tassels of 

 flowers commence to lengthen and unfold, yellowish at first, 

 and later on becoming greener. The flowers are composed of 

 six petals and have six whitish stamens. 



Burton in his Anatomic of Melancholy refers to the alleged 

 curative properties of the Hellebore as an antidote for madness. 



" Borage and hellebore fill two scenes. 

 Sovereign plants to purge the veins 

 Of melancholy, and cheer the heart 

 Of those black fumes which make it smart.'' 



Yet according to the principle that those herbs which cure 

 may also kill, the Hellebore is best known to us as a very 

 poisonous plant. 



STENANTHIUM 



Sh'iiniitJiiiiiii (Hciih'iiialc. l.ilv I'amily 



Bulb oblong-ovoid, coated. Stems: slender, erect, glabrous. Leaves: 

 few, linear, lanceolate, acuminate. Flowers: raceme simple, flowers cam- 

 panulate, nodding, segments of the perianth brownish-green; bracts .some- 

 what scarious ; pedicels slender, spreading, longer tlian the bracts. 

 Fruit: seeds linear, flat, winged. 



