False hellebore

Description:

False Hellebore is an herbaceous perennial plant that grows about 0.7–2 m tall. The plant is found growing in moist to wet meadows, thickets, swamps, stream-banks, and open forests from the lowland and all the way to the alpine zones. It prefers deep fertile moisture retentive humus-rich soil and normally dislikes dry soils, preferring to grow in a bog garden. The plant has solid green stem. Leaves are spirally arranged, 10–35 cm long and 5–20 cm broad, elliptic to broad lanceolate ending in a short point, heavily ribbed and hairy on the underside. The leaves are usually oval to linear.

Habitat:

Spotted growing in an open forest. Veratrum viride var. eschscholzianum grows in western North America from Alaska and Northwest Territory south along the Coast Range to the Pacific Northwest and northern California.

Notes:

The plant belongs to Liliaceae (Lily family). Almost all parts of the plant are highly poisonous and use of this plant should be carried out with great caution and preferably only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. The plant reproduces through rhizome growth as well as seeds. This is a young plant that is just starting to spread out its leaves.