HBLICHR YSUM HELLEBORUS. 



141 



A bright and lovely plant, with 

 leaves quite white with down on 

 both sides; 4 to 10 in. high. Flowers, 

 in summer ; bright golden yellow, in a 

 compound corymb. They are much 

 used on the Continent for Immortelles 

 and ornaments. Leaves, lance-shaped, 

 entire, nearly stem -clasping, blunt 

 and recurved at the points, with 

 re volute edges ; stem upright, 

 downy, not branching, clothed with 

 leaves to the top. Central and Southern 



Europe. Excellent for rock work 



and the margins of borders, always in 

 very sandy, warm, and well-drained 

 Boil. Division. 



Helichrysum Stoechas (Stcechas H.} 

 A neat perennial, with very 

 branching spreading stems, about 

 1 ft. high. Flowers, in summer ; 

 yellow, in terminal corymbose heads, 

 closely crowded together, on short 

 stalks. Leaves, sessile, linear, ob- 

 tuse, silvery underneath ; stems and 

 branches covered with silvery down. 

 South of Europe. Margins of bor- 

 ders, and the rock-garden, in lightish 

 soil. Division. 



Heliopsis Isevis (Smooth H.} A 

 vigorous smoothish herb, 3 to 6 ft. 

 high. Flowers, late in summer ; yel- 

 low ; heads about 3 in. across, on long 

 stalks, terminating the stem. Leaves, 

 oval-lance-shaped, abrupt at the base, 

 or tapering abruptly into the stalks, 

 coarsely serrate. H. gradlis is a 

 variety of this species, with a slender 

 stem, clothed with fine down at the 

 top, and much smaller in all its parts, 

 with lance-shaped, rough leaves, acute 

 at the base. H. scabra is another variety 

 with stem and leaves rough, and the 

 involucre slightly downy. United 

 States of North America. Natu- 

 ralization among strong herbs in com- 

 mon soil. Division and seed. 



Helleborus abchasicus (Abchasian 

 Christmas Rose). An interesting but 

 uncommon kind of Christmas rose, 



about 1 ft. high. Flowers, in spring ; 

 green, usually nodding ; anthers yel- 

 lowish-white ; petals 18 to 24 in num- 

 ber; sepals obovate- oblong, pointed, 

 waved at the margin, not overlapping 

 each other, of a purplish hue. Leaves, 

 mostly radical, somewhat pedate, with 

 5 to 7 spathulate-lanceolate, widely- 

 spreading, smooth, distantly-toothed 

 leaflets, continuing through the winter. 

 Region between the Caucasus and the 



Black Sea. Sheltered and sunny 



banks, or borders, in warm well- 

 drained soil. Division. 



Helleborus atrorubens (Dark-purple 

 H.} Stem about 18 in. high, pro- 

 ducing branches with 2 or 3 series of 

 forkings. Flowers, in March or April ; 

 deep purple in bud, when first ex- 

 panded violet purple, the edges and 

 centre green, afterwards changing to 

 dull purple. Leaves, pedate, variable 

 in form, 5- to 9-parted, never assuming 

 the lobed condition of H. purpurascens, 

 nor are the lobes united half way up, 

 but distinct almost to the base, except 

 in the side ones. Woods and thickets 



in Southern Europe. Sheltered 



borders, banks, and fringes of shrub- 

 beries, in deep good loam. Division. 



Helleborus fcetidas (Fetid H.) A 

 hardy native plant, very distinct and 

 striking in habit, and well worthy of 

 cultivation for the sake of its handsome 

 winter foliage. In a wild state it 

 forms luxuriant tufts, about 2 ft. 

 high, and in gardens has attained a 

 height of 3 ft. or more. Flowers, early in 

 spring ; globose, greenish, tipped with 

 purple, drooping, in panicled cymes. 

 Leaves, alternate, persistent, leathery, 

 of a dull green colour, the lower ones 

 divided into from 7 to 1 1 lance-shaped 

 serrated segments, pedately arranged. 



Britain and Europe. Borders, 



or fringes of shrubberies, in ordinary 

 soil. Division. 



Helleborus niger (Christmas Rose). 

 A well-known old garden plant ; 6 



