False Hellebore

(Veratrum viride)

 

   

 

Color Photograph: NRCS, Plants Database, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

False Hellebore (Veratrum viride Ait.)

Identification: Flowers green, star-shaped, with 6 petals (usually). Flowers yellow-green when young, become dull green with age. Flowers arranged in a tightly packed, much branched terminal cluster (panicle). Stem green, smooth. Leaves large and broad, heavily ribbed, clasping the stem. Plant 2 to 8 feet in height.

Distribution: Minnesota to New Brunswick, southward to Maryland, and in the mountains to Georgia. Also occurs in the Pacific Northwest.

Habitat: False Hellebore is found in swamps and wet woods.

Flowering period: May to July.

Similar Species: The green, star-shaped flowers and large, heavily ribbed leaves will almost always identify False Hellebore.

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