HELLEBORUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



HELLEBORUS. 



soms that appear in early spring and vary 

 from pure white to greenish-Avhite. H. 

 guttatus is like it, but has the inside of 

 the blossoms spotted with purple. There 

 are several forms ; in some the markings 

 assume the form of small dots, in others 

 of thin streaks. It is one of the parents 

 of the many beautiful hybrids. 



The finest of the red or crimson kinds 

 is H. colchicus, which is larger than any 



produced from the end of January to the 

 end of March. A fine hybrid has been 

 obtained by crossing it with H. guttatus, 

 the result being a form with large spread- 

 ing flowers lighter than in H. colchicus, 

 and profusely marked with dark carmine 

 streaks. Another hybrid between this 

 and H. altifolius resulted in a form with 

 larger flowers of a lighter purple. H. 

 atro-rubens has leaves much thinner and 



Christinas Rose. 



other, and may be readily recognised by 

 thick dark green leaves, with five to seven 

 broad and coarsely-toothed divisions, the 

 veins of which are raised on the under 

 sides, and are of a dark purple when young. 

 The blossoms, borne on forked stems 

 rising considerably above the foliage, are 

 dark purple. Under good cultivation the 

 leaves attain the length of i^ and 2 ft., 

 forming fine specimens, and flowers are 



flowers much smaller than H. colchicus, 

 the latter dull purple on the outside and 

 greenish-purple within. It is a native of 

 Hungary, and is common in gardens, but 

 is often confused with H. abchasicus, a 

 taller and more slender plant, the flower- 

 stems of which are longer, and the blos- 

 soms nodding and smaller. H. abchasicus 

 is much superior to atro-rubens, the colour 

 of the blossoms a deep ruby-crimson 



