Hellebores are popular garden plants because they flower so early in the year. The so-called Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis and its many hybrids that are grouped together as H. x hybridus) - above - flowers in March in British gardens and H.niger a.k.a. the Christmas rose (below) flowers even earlier, though never earlier than February in my Durham garden. Both are also popular with the first bumblebees to emerge from hibernation, thanks to a peculiarity of their floral architecture.
Hellebore flowers are deceptive because those petals are not petals at all - they're the sepals that protected the bud before the flower opened, that then expand and assume a petal-like advertising function when the plant blooms. The real petals are converted into a ring of green, tube-like structures with nectar-secreting tissue inside.
Once the flower opens these tubular petals fill with nectar and become a favoured refuelling station for bumblebees. The stamens, as you can see in the photo above, burst open a few at a time, and the nectaries keep filling with nectar until all the pollen has been released and the stigmas - in the centre of the flower - have been pollinated. True petals usually fall from a flower once it has been fertilised and seeds begin to set, but the sepals of hellebores remain and become green, photosynthesising and providing resources for the developing seeds...... as in the bottom left illustration below.
Illustration source: Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé ''Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz'' 1885. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Illustration_Helleborus_niger0.jpg
Once the seeds ripen and are shed, a further unusual feature becomes apparent...
..... because each seed has a small white body called an elaiosome attached to the seed coat that's attractive to ants, which carry the seeds away from the parent plant. The seeds have a natural dormancy that takes a cycle of winter chilling to break, before they will germinate. You can find an excellent web site devoted to this plant genus at http://www.hellebores.org/index.html
Hi Phil,
ReplyDeleteThe Hellebores ( hybridus) are just opening here in Southern Ontario and Helleborus niger 'Praecox' has been flowering since the Autumn. I did cover it with a cloche in January and February, but regret it as the humidity inside damaged the leaves. I have a feeling the flowers would have survived without the cloche in the coldest months with enough snow cover. I'll try this next year.
That is so interesting about their architecture. I didn't realise the 'petals' were really sepals. And to think ants carry the seeds away. :)
ReplyDeleteI used to have a Helleborus argutifolius but it eventually succumbed to the constant trampling of dogs paws. It was a fantastic plant and the bees loved it. I've got a baby one in a pot so I'll give it another go.... only more protected this time.
Hi Barry, My H.niger began to push through the soil in February but the flowers have been really hammered by our harder-than-usual winter..... snow might have protected them but a long series of sever frosts took their toll.
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley, I've grown stinking hellebore H. foetidus in the past, which bees also love but is best admired from a distance. I haven't got any flowering this year but I've noticed self-sown seedlings coming up in varous parts of the garden.....There are some find patches of green hellebore growing wild in Teesdale and at Rookhope in Weardale.
ReplyDeletec'est très complet et la photo est superbe!
ReplyDeleteThank you Elfi for your kind comments....
ReplyDeleteGreat with all the illustrations and the links.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people seem to like Hellebores Andrea, judging from all the web pages devoted to them....
ReplyDeleteI like this mix of photos and illustrations. It´s so informative and your photos are excellent. Greetings from Luzia.
ReplyDeleteThanks Luzia... and thank you for visiting ..... kind regards, Phil
ReplyDelete