white hellebore

American  

[hwahyt hel-uh-bawr, wahyt] / ˈʰwaɪt ˈhɛl əˌbɔr, ˈwaɪt /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of white hellebore

First recorded in 1400–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

white hellebore

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

From The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 1 by Japp, Alexander H. (Alexander Hay)

This is a white, yellowish powder made from the roots of the white hellebore plant.

From Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by Bailey, L. H. (Liberty Hyde)

Powdered white hellebore, dusted on the foliage, or the solution of whale oil soap mentioned for the Rose Thrip, will keep it in check.

From Making a Rose Garden by Saylor, Henry H. (Henry Hodgman)

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

From Making a Rose Garden by Saylor, Henry H. (Henry Hodgman)

It was eventually discovered that powdered white hellebore was a specific remedy.

From Success with Small Fruits by Roe, Edward Payson