American Hellebore
Parts Usually Used
American hellebore; rootstock Helleborus niger: rootstock Helleborus foetidus: rootstock, herb Helleborus viridis: rootstock
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Hellebore viridis Any of a genus (Veratrum) of poisonous plants of the lily family. American hellebore (V. viride) is a perennial plant whose branched stem may grow from 2-8 feet tall. The root stock is thick and fleshy and has many large whitish roots. It has a strong, unpleasant smell when fresh and a sweetish-bitter, somewhat acrid taste. The leaves are alternate, changing from oval near the bottom to lanceolate or linear at the top.
A more or less drooping panicle of star-shaped, green flowers appears from June to August. Any of a genus (Helleborus) of poisonous, winter-blooming plants of the buttercup family, with buttercuplike flowers of various colors: the rhizomes of a black European species (H. niger) were formerly used as a heart stimulant and cathartic. Helleborus niger: The simple stem grows as high as 1 foot and bears a few small leaflets.
The basal leaves growing from the rootstock are dark green, leathery, petioled, palmately 7-9 parted. The large, white showy flowers appear from December to March. Helleborus foetidus: stem is branched and bears leaves that grow from pale green sheaths. The greenish and bell-shaped flowers appear from March to May. Helleborus viridis: similar to black hellebore, but its stem is branched, each branch bearing one flower in conjunction with a palmately compound leaf.
The flowers appear in March and April. False hellebore (Adonis vernalis): grows 6-12 inches high, with delicate, finely cut leaves, false hellebore produces large yellow flowers of about 10-20 petals in May or June. Adonis may be grown from seed sown in spring or early fall, or root divisions in spring. It prefers light, sandy soil. Another plant: known also as white hellebore (Veratrum speciosum) was used by the Native Americans.
” The dried root was pounded and snuffed.
Where Found
Hellebore foetidus American hellebore: found in swamps, moist meadows, wet wood edges, and low grounds from Canada to Georgia, as far west as Minnesota, and in the mountains of the Pacific Coast states. Helleborus niger: black hellebore is a perennial plant cultivated and found wild around the edges of forests in the subalphine and southern parts of Europe. It has also been introduced into the United States as a garden plant.
Helleborus foetidus: bearsfoot is a European perennial that grows on the dry, rocky slopes of the Alps. Helleborus viridis: a European perennial found mostly in alpine forests. Adonis (False hellebore): sandy soil areas in United States. Cultivated.
Medicinal Properties
Helleborus niger: diaphoretic, emetic, expectorant, febrifuge, narcotic. Helleborus foetidus: diaphoretic, emetic, expectorant, febrifuge, narcotic. Helleborus viridis: diaphoretic, emetic, expectorant, febrifuge, narcotic, sedative
Uses
Historically, Adonis vernalis was utilized in pharmaceutical preparations with the intention of slowing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and addressing arteriosclerosis as well as forms of nephritis. Preparations derived from its root were also employed as agricultural insecticides. Herbal traditions attributed properties similar to digitalis to Helleborus niger, noting that its leaves and rootstocks contained active glycosides.
Helleborus foetidus, historically known as bearsfoot, was regarded as having similar but more active properties than black hellebore, though it saw infrequent use; traditional accounts noted the administration of goat’s milk if adverse effects arose following its ingestion. Helleborus viridis was likewise documented as being more potent than black hellebore and was seldom employed.
Adonis autumnalis, traditionally referred to as false hellebore, pheasant’s eye, or red chamomile, was regarded as having properties similar to those of Helleborus niger. A powdered insecticide derived from the fresh roots of these plants was historically applied to ripening fruit and vegetables to target chewing insects, including currant worms, beetles, caterpillars, grubs, cutworms, and grasshoppers, often mixed with flour, dehydrated lime, or water.
Warning
American hellebore (leaves have been mistaken for Pokeweed, or Marsh-marigold, then eaten with fatal results), H. niger, H. foetidus, H. viridis and false hellebore (Adonis vernalis): All four are considered too dangerous for anyone who is not an experienced herbalist or botanist. These herbs are not for use without medical direction under any circumstances.
Bibliography
The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr.
A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974