Not Your Mother’s Hellebores: A New Look at Species and Hybrid Hellebores

Helleborus dumetorum. Author’s photographs
As it is currently described, the genus [Helleborus] contains seventeen species, though many subspecies and a few forms are recognized. As variation is the rule, two individuals of a species can be distinctly different in the color and size of the flower, as well as in the dissection and serration of the leaves.
Who could fail to be seduced by hellebores? They cast a spell from which you never awaken. Is it the flowers? They lack cloying fragrance, and many are small and subtly colored. Their precocious nature is part of their allure, but what makes them so much more than alluring? For many, hellebores are an obsession. They bloom for a month or more—longer where spring arrives slowly, and nights remain cool. Their rich green foliage provides summer and winter structure. It must be the sum of the parts: fantastic foliage, precocious bloom, and beautiful flowers. Alchemy creates the perfect temptress.

Most hellebores are native to mountainous regions of Europe, in open oak and beech woodlands, scrub, and meadows. These areas are characterized by limestone bedrock a...