Helleborus viridis - Green Hellebore

Phylum: Magnoliophyta - Class: Equisetopsida - Order: Ranunculales - Family: Ranunculaceae

Found in the southern parts of the UK and common throughout Europe, this plant likes damp places and can be seen in wet meadows or beside rivers and streams. The green flower buds appear first, and they are then followed by the leaves. The flowers appear in February in the UK but much earlier in southern parts of Europe. Sometimes the stems are tinged with purple. The entire plant can grow up to a metre in height.

The specimens shown above were photographed in southern France, close to the Lot Valley, in December.