Hellebore

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Hellebore \Hel"le*bore\, n. [L. helleborus, elleborus, Gr. ?, ?;
     cf. F. hell['e]bore, ell['e]bore.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. (Bot.) A genus of perennial herbs ({Helleborus}) of the
        Crowfoot family, mostly having powerfully cathartic and
        even poisonous qualities. {Helleborus niger} is the


        European black hellebore, or Christmas rose, blossoming in
        winter or earliest spring. {Helleborus officinalis} was
        the officinal hellebore of the ancients.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Bot.) Any plant of several species of the poisonous
        liliaceous genus {Veratrum}, especially {Veratrum album}
        and {Veratrum viride}, both called {white hellebore}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  hellebore
       n 1: perennial herbs of the lily family having thick toxic
            rhizomes [syn: {false hellebore}]
       2: any plant of the Eurasian genus Helleborus