One of the most fascinatingly demure lenten roses is the Bear’s claw, Helleborus foetidus, which is flowering now in the garden. This Western European native is one of the species with an upright stalk, compared to most species which have a horizontal, subterranean stem. The pendent clusters of light green flowers are held atop 18″ to 2′ tall stalks. For us, it thrives in both light shade and full sun, being incredibly drought tolerant. This is not a long-lived species, lasting only 2-4 years, so we always let some seed drop, so the patch remains in place. We have some patches that are now over 30 years old. The specific epithet, “foetidus” is Latin for stinking, but this applies to the foliage and not the flowers. The smell is more peculiar than it is stinking, so we don’t recommend, rubbing your hands on the leaves before eating. Winter hardiness is Zone 5a-9b.
this allegedly is the Helleborus used to poison the river used for water by the Spartans
Hmmm…pretty sure that was water hemlock.
I’ve read that the flowers have a red edge. I had to look really closely to see a fine red edge on mine.
The amount of red edging on the flowers is a variable trait.
The red edge is clearly visible in the seed strain ‘Wester Flisk.’
Seed strains are no better than the person doing the yearly re-selections. If seedlings with prominent red edges are the only allowed to seed, then yes.
Source I had said Helebore, but might take me an eternity to find that again clever use of plants regardless but you can’t argue that enough Heleborus would do the job