_Class and Order._

~Polyandria Polygynia.~

_Generic Character._

Calyx nullus. Petala 5 sive plura. Nectaria bilabiata, tubulata. Capsulæ
polyspermæ, erectiusculæ.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

HELLEBORUS niger scapo sub-bifloro subnudo, foliis pedatis. _Lin. Syst.
Vegetab. p._ 431. _Sp. Pl. p._ 783.

HELLEBORUS niger flore roseo, _Bauh. Pin._ 186.

The true Black Hellebore, or Christmas flower. _Parkins. Parad. p._ 344.

[Illustration: No. 8]

As our Publication seems likely to fall into the hands of such as are
totally unacquainted with Botany, or botanical writings, it must plead
as an apology for our often explaining many circumstances relative to
plants, which may be well known to adepts in the science.

This plant derives its first name from the black colour of its roots,
its second from its early flowering, and the colour of its petals, which
though generally milk-white on their first appearance, yet have
frequently a tint of red in them, which increases with the age of the