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Hellebores (the genus Helleborus in the Ranunculaceae) are flowers that are often grown in gardens for decorative purposes, as well as for purported medicinal abilities and uses in witchcraft. Hellebores are surprisingly frost-resistant.
Several legends surround the hellebore; in witchcraft it is believed to have ties to summoning demons.
The hellebore is also called the Christmas rose, due to an old legend that it sprouted in the snow from the tears of a young girl who had no gift to give the Christ child in Bethlehem.
In Greek mythology, Melampus of Pylos used hellebore to save the daughters of the king of Argos from a Dionysus-induced madness that caused them to run naked through the city, crying, weeping, and screaming.
Species
- H. abchasicus
- H. atrorubens
- H. bocconei
- H. caucasicus
- H. chinensis
- H. cyclophyllus
- H. dumetorum
- H. foetidus - stinking hellebore
- H. guttatus
- H. hyemalis
- H. niger - Christmas rose
- H. odorus
- H. orientalis - Lenten rose
- H. polychromus
- H. purpurascens
- H. ranunculinus
- H. serbicus
- H. thibetanus
- H. trifolius
- H. vesicarius
- H. viridis - green hellebore