Helleborus orientalis

This perennial reaches {{cvt|28|–|45|cm}} tall, with glossy green palmate leaves composed of 7–9 leaflets with serrated leaf margins. Leathery in texture, the leaves are evergreen. The cup-shaped pendent flowers appear in late winter and spring, arising in groups of 1–4 on the ends of thick stems rising above the foliage. They have yellow stamens.{{cite web|title=Helleborus orientalis|url=http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=d100|website=Plant Finder|publisher=Missouri Botanic Garden|access-date=6 January 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106173741/http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=d100|archive-date=6 January 2018}} All parts of the Lenten rose are poisonous. Sap coming into contact with the skin may cause temporary irritation, while ingestion of large quantities can cause burning of mouth and throat, vomiting, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea.{{Cite web|title=Helleborus orientalis (Christmas Rose, Helleborus, Lenten Rose) {{!}} North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox|url=https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/helleborus-orientalis/|access-date=2021-02-26|website=plants.ces.ncsu.edu}}

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck described the species in 1789, giving it its current name of Helleborus orientalis ("{{lang|fr|Hellébore du Levant}}").{{cite book|last1=Lamarck|first1=Jean-Baptiste|title=Encyclopédie méthodique. Botanique|volume=3|date=1789|publisher=Panckoucke; Plomteux|location=Paris,Liège|pages=96–97|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/721531|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125193735/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/721531|archive-date=2018-01-25}} Within the genus Helleborus, it has been classified in the section Helleborastrum, and is closely related to the other eight species in the section.{{cite journal|last1=Zonneveld|first1=B.J.M.|title=Nuclear DNA contents of all species of Helleborus (Ranunculaceae) discriminate between species and sectional divisions|journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution|date=2001|volume=229|issue=1–2|pages=125–30|doi=10.1007/s006060170022|bibcode=2001PSyEv.229..125Z |s2cid=22172693|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227037366|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106173603/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bjm_Zonneveld/publication/227037366_Nuclear_DNA_contents_of_all_species_of_Helleborus_Ranunculaceae_discriminate_between_species_and_sectional_divisions/links/56debf5e08ae46f1e9a0e756/Nuclear-DNA-contents-of-all-species-of-Helleborus-Ranunculaceae-discriminate-between-species-and-sectional-divisions.pdf|archive-date=2018-01-06}} These species are all highly variable and hybridise with each other freely.{{cite journal|last1=Hang|first1=Sun | first2= Will |last2=McLewin |first3=Michael F. |last3=Fay |title=Molecular Phylogeny of Helleborus (Ranunculaceae), with an Emphasis on the East Asian-Mediterranean Disjunction|journal=Taxon|date=2001|volume=50|issue=4|pages=1001–18|doi=10.2307/1224717|jstor=1224717 }}

The Latin species name orientalis means "eastern".{{cite book|last= Simpson | first= D.P. | title = Cassell's Latin Dictionary | publisher = Cassell Ltd.| page=416 | year = 1979|edition = 5|location = London| isbn=0-304-52257-0}} The common name "Lenten" refers to the period of Lent.{{cite web|last1=Schronce|first1=Arty|title=Lenten Rose – A Perennial Getting Some Well Deserved Attention|website=Market Bulletin|publisher=Georgia Department of Agriculture|url=http://agr.georgia.gov/lenten-rose-a-perennial-getting-attention.aspx|access-date=6 January 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106174412/http://agr.georgia.gov/lenten-rose-a-perennial-getting-attention.aspx|archive-date=6 January 2018}}{{cite web|title=Helleborus orientalis|url=http://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/plant-finder/helleborus-orientalis/|website=Gardeners World|access-date=6 January 2018|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106233227/http://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/plant-finder/helleborus-orientalis/|archive-date=6 January 2018}}

The Lenten rose is suited to shaded or part-shaded positions, in soil rich in humus. Cultivated varieties have a wide array of colours. It is hardy in USDA hardiness zones 4–9 (down to {{cvt|-15 to -20|C|F|abbr=on}}).{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/101214/helleborus-orientalis-lam/details | title = Helleborus orientalis | publisher = RHS | access-date = 7 December 2021}} German planters began breeding H. orientalis in the mid-19th century, enhanced by new material from the Caucasus via St Petersburg Botanic Garden. New varieties were soon introduced to the United Kingdom. Interest peaked in the late 19th century, but the genus had fallen out of favour by the 1920s.{{cite book|last1=Kingsbury|first1=Noel|title=Garden Flora: The Natural and Cultural History of the Plants In Your Garden|date=2016|publisher=Timber Press|page=156|isbn=9781604697735|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DtD8DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA156|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106174543/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=DtD8DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA156|archive-date=2018-01-06}} The Lenten rose was revived in horticulture in the 1960s by Helen Ballard, who bred many new varieties.{{cite book|last1=Terry|first1=Bill|title=The Carefree Garden: Letting Nature Play Her Part|date=2015|publisher=TouchWood Editions|page=115|isbn=9781771511261|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DLdfCQAAQBAJ&q=Helen+Ballard+hellebores&pg=PA115|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106174038/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=DLdfCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA115&dq=Helen+Ballard+hellebores&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjjz_-E-MLYAhVBmJQKHRy4Ch8Q6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&q=Helen%20Ballard%20hellebores&f=false|archive-date=2018-01-06}} Cultivated varieties can have white, green, pink to maroon and purple or spotted flowers.{{cite book|last1=Cretti|first1=John|first2=Mary Ann|last2=Newcomer|title=Rocky Mountain Gardener's Handbook: All You Need to Know to Plan, Plant & Maintain a Rocky Mountain Garden – Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada|date=2012|publisher=Cool Springs Press|isbn=9781610588195|page=115|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nk_0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106173732/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=nk_0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115|archive-date=2018-01-06}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Helleborus orientalis|Helleborus orientalis}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q937300}}

orientalis

Category:Plants described in 1789

Category:Flora of Greece

Category:Flora of Georgia (country)

Category:Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck