Stinking hellebore

It has to be said at the outset that stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), also known as dungwort, is not the most pleasant of plants – not only does it not look all that pretty, but it smells awful and is poisonous just for good measure!

It is found in woods and on scrubby land on chalk and limestone soils in southern England and Wales. It grows to about 30 inches in height (80 centimetres), forming long evergreen leaves on stout stems and a large number of yellowish-green flowers, fringed with purple, that are visible from February to April.

The unpleasant smell, which is even worse if the leaves are crushed, is much less unpleasant to the insects that pollinate it. It offers copious amounts of nectar, with five to ten nectaries to each flower.

When the seed is produced the plant has an unusual way of getting it spread, using snails to do the job. Each seed has a film of oil on it which is attractive to snails. However, it is only the oil that interests them and they discard the rest of the seed, which then sticks to the snail’s slime and is carried away to another site where it can germinate.

Stinking hellebore was once used for medicinal purposes, namely for killing worms in children, who would be violently sick and throw up the worms along with the hellebore. Unfortunately, any hellebore not expelled in this way would be just as likely to kill the child. An infusion of hellebore was also formerly used externally for treating boils, but again its poisonous nature was found to do just as much harm as good and the practice has long since ceased.

If you feel tempted to try using stinking hellebore for such purposes, you would be well advised to try something else!

© John Welford