Number of seeds: 6 / Botanical name: Helleborus niger
The Christmas rose, also known as the snow rose, blooms in winter, and its name evokes the birth of Jesus at Christmas. Its delicate white blossoms, measuring five to ten centimeters in diameter, symbolize purity and the rebirth of life during the cold season and bloom between December and March. Because of its flowering time around Christmas, Helleborus niger is the only true Christmas rose. Other species are more commonly referred to as Lenten roses or hellebores.
Natural habitat: The wild Christmas rose's natural range lies in the eastern Northern and Southern Alps and the northern Balkans. It grows there at altitudes up to 1900 meters. In Germany, it is native only to Bavaria. In Austria and Switzerland, however, it is more common. Christmas roses prefer bushy slopes and light beech and mixed beech forests as their natural habitat.
