Hellebores - A short study

Some hellebores are really nothing to look at, especially as most flowers hang facing the soil - to the point that if they were in a border with other plants, you may well miss them as just a bit of foliage. But alone, as in the photographs above, they are allowed to shine.

An interesting feature are the nectaries, which are the true petals on the plant and have evolved into tube-like structures to hold nectar for their pollinators. These can be seen between the stamen and the sepals, which take over the petal's duty of being the 'showy' part of the plant.

There are so many variations of colour and designs of hellebore flowers. A chocolate variety can be seen to the left.

A lovely pale green hellebore. The sepals of hellebores can remain on the plant well after the sexual parts of the flower have finished their job. They turn themselves to photosynthesis, possibly contributing to the development of the seeds. The plant to the left shows the different stages. The flower, low centre, shows the sexual parts remaining. Above that flower and to the left shows the beginnings of the seed cases, post-fertilisation.

The bulging seed cases, showing that it's been a good year for the hellebores.

The robust seeds of the hellebore. Apparently difficult to get going and even after 8 weeks in a fridge can take up to 18 months to fully germinate.