white hellebore

[hwahyt hel-uh-bawr, wahyt]

noun

1. a false hellebore, Veratrum album, with clusters of white flowers, native to Europe and western Asia: now rarely used in medicine, its alkaloids were once used in a number of treatments, as for high blood pressure, but accidental poisoning is due mostly to the plant’s resemblance to an ingestible European gentian.

Word History and Origins

Origin of white hellebore¹

First recorded in 1400–50

Example Sentences

The powdered root of white hellebore is said to destroy both this grub and the caterpillars of the gooseberry moth and V-moth; infusion of foxglove, and tobacco-water, are likewise tried by some growers.

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If this does not prove efficacious, dust the under side of the leaves with white hellebore in a powder gun.

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For instance, they used white hellebore to cure their wounds, and John Josselyn tells us exactly how.

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Vomits of white hellebore or antimony, and purges of black hellebore or aloes, are prescribed.

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Take the brain—we have a disease, and we treat it with white hellebore.

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