Helleborus-odorus_2

Description:

Helleborus odorusFragnant HelleboreSlo.: blagodiei telohDat.: March 17, 2015Lat.: 45.76234 Long.: 14.22001Code: Bot_856/2015_DSC5285Habitat: Broad leaved forest, no Fagus sylvatica, next to a dirt road, semiruderal place, southwest oriented moderately inclined mountain slop, apparently dry and warm place, partly protected from direct rain by tree canopies, average precipitations ~ 1.800-2.000 mm/year, average temperature 8-10 deg C, elevation 560 m (1850 feet), Dinaric phytogeographical region. Substratum: soil.Place: East of Postojna Animal Hospital, between freeway and railroad, Notranjska, Slovenia EC.Comment: Hellebores are very beautiful. It is interesting that what one would consider as petals are actually sepals, which are taking over the role of petals. Between them and numerous stamens there are tubular nectaries producing nectar and attracting pollinators.As easy as it is to properly determine white flowering Helleborus niger and purple red flowering Helleborus atrorubens, so it is difficult to correctly determine green flowering Helleborus species of Slovenia (grouped in the section Helleborastrum). Helleborus dumentorum, Helleborus odorus and Helleborus multifidus subsp. istiacus all of them with green flowers, are extremely variable plants and again and again one finds plants, which seem to have characters, which are in between of traits of these (three?) four species. It appears that Helleborus odorus slowly changes to Helleborus multifidus subsp. istiacus and this one to Helleborus multifidus subsp. multifidus going from west Slovenia to east into Croatia. At least what one has to do for the best possible determination is to examine several flowering plants and perform 'averaging' in his head. Based on the length of bracts (not or not much longer than 'petals', actually sepals), diameter of flowers (more than 5 cm) and very distinctive odor I decided for Helleborus odorus.Growing in groups of many plants. Note unusual blackish purple lines of spots on the internal side of 'petals'. Plants have strong odor on flowers of Sambucu nigra. Stalks are branched (2, 2, 3AVG=2.3 branches/SD=0.6/n=3) with several flowers on each (7, 4, 3 flowers). Average flowers' diameter is over 5 cm (totally open) (AVG=5.1/ SD=0.5/ n=10). Bracts are divided into several subsections (AVG=3.8/ SD=1.1/ n=18) and are as long or somewhat longer than 'petals'. 'Petals' overlap up to 3 mm maximum on 40 - 60% of their side edge. No ground leaves present yet. Protected according to 'Uredba o zavarovanih prostoiveih rastlinskih vrstah'Url. RS, t. 46/2004 (Regulation of protection of wild growing plants, Official Gazette of Republic Slovenia, No.: 46/2004), marked by code O0 (collecting underground parts and seeds of the plant is prohibited).Ref.:(1) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije, Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007) (in Slovenian), p 127. (2) P. Skoberne, Zavarovane rastline Slovenije (Protected Plants of Slovenia) (in Slovenian) Mladinska Knjiga Zaloba (2007), p 103.(3) J. Bavcon, K. Eler, A.uel, Helleborus (Helleborus L.) in Slovenia (bilingual Slovenian/English edition), University Botanic Gardens, Ljubljana, JAK Slovenian Book Agency (2012)