HOW POISONOUS ARE HELLEBORES? |The Garden of Eaden

How poisonous are hellebores?

Native to large swathes of Europe and Asia, Hellebores are a great choice for when deciding to introduce early flowering plants to the garden. This is especially true when you consider the number of improved hybrids being released from plant breeders on a year to year basis. Despite their beauty, there is a shadow that hovers over the Hellebore genus and that is down to its toxicity. In fact every part of the plant is considered poisonous! Luckily Hellebore poisoning is rare, but just how poisonous are hellebores?

How poisonous are hellebores?

In folk law, there is a long history of poisoning by hellebore, some of which misleading. Most notably hellebore poisoning is thought to be the cause of death of Alexander the Great who was felled by a mysterious illness that left him too weak to move. However current research points towards the white hellebore which is believed to have been slipped into his wine. Despite the common name of white hellebore, it is actually a false friend as it actually denotes the species Veratrum album which is clearly not a true hellebore.

In the early days of medicine, black hellebore, a general name which included various species of the genus Helleborus, was used to treat paralysis, gout and in particularly insanity!

While Black hellebore is indeed toxic, it contains protoanemonin, or ranunculin depending on the species which has an acrid taste. So if ingested you will quickly know about it as these compounds can cause burning of the eyes, mouth, and throat, oral ulceration, gastroenteritis, and hematemesis.

However, if you ingest enough of it Hellebore poisoning can cause tinnitus, vertigo, stupor, thirst, anaphylaxis, vomiting, slowing of the heart rate, and finally collapse and death from cardiac arrest! That is how poisonous Hellebores are.

For further reading click onto:
ARE CHERRY LAUREL FRUIT POISONOUS?
HELLEBORUS 'Penny's Pink'
HELLEBORES AND HAND POLLINATION
HOW TO GROW HELLEBORES FROM SEED
How to Plant and Grow Hellebores
How to propagate hellebores
Helleborus and Hand Pollination
Pests and Diseases of Hellebores
THE BLACK HELLEBORE
THE CHRISTMAS ROSE - Helleborus niger