Seasonal Wild Flowers

Green Hellebore

Helleborus viridis

Bear's-foot

Ranunculaceae

In woodland it flowers from February to May but in built up

areas it starts to flower in January.

Both native and naturalised plants are found throughout

the country, but are more common in the South.

See the BSBI distribution map for Green Hellebore

It grows in woods and hedges on lime and in shade.

Green Hellebore is a native, perennial, herb growing

to 40cm.

The clusters of yellow-green flowers (4-5cm in

diameter) appear just before the leaves.

The palmate, toothed leaves are dark green and

tough.

It has been planted for winter flowering for hundreds

of years and in the wild it is a mixture of native and

naturalised plants.

According to Preston et al. (2002) some old

populations have disappeared due to the removal

of hedges and copses and the reduction in

coppicing.

Green Hellebore

Group of flowers

Toothed leaves

Fruits (follicles)