THE BUTTERCUP FAMILY 
7 
roundish, concave, yellow, like petals (petaloid) ; the stem 6 inches to 2 feet high, erect and 
strong ; the leaves roundish, divided to the base into 5 deeply-lobed leaflets (palmate). 
Rare, common in our gardens. Mountains in Wales and Scotland and the North, by the sides 
of streams. June — August. Perennial. [Plate 5. 
HELLEBORE. (HELLEBORUS, LINN.) — Flowers in a terminal mass (corymb). Sepals 5, 
large, of a strong texture (herbaceous), remaining with the fruit (persistent); petals 5-12, much 
smaller than the sepals, tubular and slightly 2-lipped; stamens numerous; carpels 3-10. Fruit, 
a head of follicles (dry, many-seeded fruits, opening down one side). Perennial herbs, with 
leaves divided to the base (palmate). Poisonous ; one of the species containing the most violent 
poison being the Black Hellebore (Helleborus niger), our Christmas Rose of the garden. 
Green Hellebore, Bear’s-foot. (Helleborus viridis, Linn.)— As just described. The 
flowers 1^-2 inches across, few, slightly drooping, green ; the 5 large green sepals spreading; the 
little tubular petals green; the stamens greenish yellow; the stem i-i| feet high, stout; the 
leaves divided to the base into 5-7 toothed leaflets (palmate), the root (radical) leaves not fully 
developed till the plant has done flowering. Very poisonous. [Plate 5. 
Rare. Woods and thickets, especially on chalky soil. April — May. Perennial. 
Stinking Hellebore, Setterwort. (Helleborus fcetidus, Linn.)— Differing from the 
Green Hellebore in having smaller pale green flowers, 1 inch across, the pale yellowish-green 
cup-shaped sepals being tipped with purple and turned back when the fruit is ripe, and leaves 
which are lobed and not divided to the base. The pale green stems and flowers and dark green 
leaves make the whole plant very noticeable and unmistakable. Very poisonous. 
Rare. Woods and thickets, especially on chalky soil. March — April. Perennial. 
^WINTER ACONITE. (ERANTHIS, SALISB .) — Flowers solitary, pale yellow, on leafless 
stalks from the root (scapes), surrounded by leafy bracts (involucre). Sepals 5-8, large, equal, 
brightly coloured, like petals (petaloid); petals 5-8, much shorter than the sepals, tubular, 
2-lipped ; stamens many ; carpels 5-6. Fruit a head of stalked follicles (dry, many-seeded fruits, 
opening down one side). Leaves all from the root (radical), round, divided to the base into 
3 deeply-lobed leaflets (palmate). Root stout, creeping. 
*Common Winter Aconite. (Eranthis hyemalis, Salisb.)— The only species found 
in the British Isles (as just described). \Plate 5. 
Rare. Though not a native, well established in many of our parks and thickets. January — 
March. Perennial. 
COLUMBINE. (AQUILEGIA, LINN.) — Flowers handsome, in very loose terminal clusters 
Sepals s, purplish-green; petals 5, each with a long incurved spur; stamens numerous; 
carpels 5, many-seeded. Fruit a head of 5 follicles (dry, many-seeded fruits, opening down one 
side). Perennial herbs, with the leaves, chiefly from the root (radical), divided from the base into 
3 stalked leaflets. 
Common Columbine. (Aquilegia vulgaris, Linn.)— The only British species (as 
just described). The petals blue, purple, or white ; the stems 1-2 feet high, erect ; the leaflets 
deeply lobed into scalloped segments. [Plate 6. 
Rare. Woods and coppices, especially on chalky soil. May — July. Perennial. 
