[72]
~h.e.l.leborus lividus. Livid or Purple h.e.l.lebore.~
_Cla.s.s and Order._
~Polyandria Polygynia.~
_Generic Character._
_Cal._ nullus. _Petala_-5. sive plura. _Nectaria_ bil.a.b.i.ata, tubulata.
_Caps._ polyspermae, erectiusculae.
_Specific Character._
h.e.l.lEBORUS _lividus_ caule multifloro folioso, foliis ternatis. _Ait.
Hort. Kew. ined. 2. p. 272._
[Ill.u.s.tration: 72]
It is not a little extraordinary that this plant which has for many years been cultivated in this country, should have escaped the notice of LINNaeUS; it is equally wonderful that we should at this moment be strangers to its place of growth.
Having three leaves growing together, it has been considered by many as the _trifoliatus_ of LINNaeUS but his _trifoliatus_ is a very different plant, a native of Canada, producing small yellow flowers.
It has been usual to treat this species as a green-house plant, or at least to shelter it under a frame in the winter; probably it is more hardy than we imagine.
It is propagated by parting its roots in autumn, and by seeds, though few of the latter in general ripen, nor do the roots make much increase--to these causes we must doubtless attribute its present comparative scarcity.
It flowers as early as February; on which account, as well as that of its singularity, it is a very desirable plant in collections.