Family: buttercups (Ranunculaceae)
Flowering period: January–April
Size: 10–30 cm
Habitat: light forests, shrub slopes, stony meadows
Black hellebore (Helleborus niger) is one of the first plants in spring to delight us with its splendid flowers. In the soil it has a black root, which gave it its name. The stem carries a single white flower and is usually unbranched. The dark green, leathery basal leaves are evergreen and distinctly shaped. We call them petiolate. Black hellebore is a highly poisonous plant, which locals call slepica. It is a common forest type on calcareous substrates, but it avoids the Primorska region and the northeastern part of Slovenia. Here in Slovenia it is a protected species that we can gather for a bouquet, but let us not overdo it, for slepica in nature brightens the day for other visitors as well.
