A poisonous plant with white, pink, or purple flowers, often blooming in winter and traditionally used in medicine and witchcraft.
From Greek helléboros, possibly from helein ('to injure') and bora ('food'), meaning 'poison food.' The ancient Greeks and Romans used it medically despite its toxicity; the etymology reflects its dangerous reputation.
The ancient Greeks treated madness and insanity with hellebore despite not understanding why it worked—it was essentially medieval chemotherapy, risky and crude but sometimes effective, making it one of medieval medicine's strangest success stories!
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