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'{{hatnote|Not to be confused with ''Phytolacca acinosa'' (also called Indian poke), or other pokeweeds (genus ''[[Phytolacca]]'')}} {{taxobox |image = Veratrum veride2.JPG |image_caption = ''Veratrum viride'' var. ''viride'' in flower |regnum = [[Plantae]] |unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]] |unranked_classis = [[Monocots]] |ordo = [[Liliales]] |familia = [[Melanthiaceae]] |genus = ''[[Veratrum]]'' |species = '''''V. viride''''' |binomial = ''Veratrum viride'' |binomial_authority = [[William Aiton|Aiton]] |}} '''''Veratrum viride''''' ('''Indian Poke''', '''Indian Hellebore''', ''' False Hellebore''', '''Green False Hellebore''') is a species of ''[[Veratrum]]'' native to eastern and western (but not central) [[North America]].<ref name=fna>Flora of North America: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242102051 ''Veratrum viride'']</ref><ref name=usda>USDA Plants Profile: [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VEVI ''Veratrum viride'']</ref><ref name=grin>Germplasm Resources Information Network: [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?41142 ''Veratrum viride'']</ref> It is extremely [[toxic]], and is considered a pest plant by farmers with livestock. The species has acquired a large number of common names within its native range, including American False Hellebore, American White Hellebore, Bear Corn, Big Hellebore, Corn Lily, Devils Bite, Duck Retten, Indian Hellebore, Itch-weed, Itchweed, Poor Annie, Blue Hellebore, and Tickleweed. [[File:Veratrum_viride_6061.JPG|left|thumb|Each flower is 5–12 mm long, with six green to yellow-green tepals ([[Alpine Lakes Wilderness]]}]] It is a [[herbaceous]] [[perennial plant]] reaching 0.7–2 m tall, with a solid green stem. The [[leaf|leaves]] are spirally arranged, 10–35 cm long and 5–20 cm broad, elliptic to broad lanceolate ending in a short point, heavily ribbed and hairy on the underside. The [[flower]]s are numerous, produced in a large branched [[inflorescence]] 30–70 cm tall; each flower is 5–12 mm long, with six green to yellow-green [[tepal]]s. The [[fruit]] is a [[capsule (fruit)|capsule]] 1.5–3 cm long, which splits into three sections at maturity to release the numerous flat 8–10 mm diameter [[seed]]s. The plant reproduces through [[rhizome]] growth as well as seeds.<ref name=fna/><ref name=bc>Plants of British Columbia: [http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Veratrum+viride ''Veratrum viride'']</ref><ref name=jeps>Jepson Flora [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Veratrum+viride ''Veratrum viride'']</ref><ref name=colombia>Columbia River Gorge plants: [http://web.archive.org/web/20040514025137/http://ghs.gresham.k12.or.us/science/ps/nature/gorge/3petal/lily/green.htm Green False Hellebore]</ref> There are two [[variety (biology)|varieties]]:<ref name=fna/> *'''''Veratrum viride'' var. ''viride'''''. Eastern North America. Side branches of inflorescence erect or spreading. *'''''Veratrum viride'' var. ''eschscholzianum''''' (Roemer & Schultes) Breitung. Western North America. Side branches of inflorescence drooping. The related western North American ''[[Veratrum californicum]]'' (White False Hellebore, Corn Lily) can be distinguished from sympatric var. ''eschscholzianum'' by its whiter flowers, with erect side branches of the inflorescence.<ref name=colombia/> ==Distribution and habitat== In eastern North America, var. ''viride'' occurs from southwestern [[Labrador]] and southern [[Quebec]] south to northern [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. In the west, var. ''eschscholzianum'' occurs from [[Alaska]] and [[Northwest Territory]] south through [[Yukon]], [[British Columbia]], [[Alberta]], [[Washington (U.S. state)|Washington]], [[Idaho]], [[Montana]], and [[Oregon]] to northern [[California]].<ref name=fna/><ref name=grin/> It is found in wet soils in meadows, sunny streambanks, and open forests, from sea level in the north of the range, up to 1,600 m in the southeast and 2,500 m in the southwest.<ref name=fna/><ref name=bc/><ref name=jeps/> ==Medicine==<!--[[Alkavervir]] redirects here--> The plant is highly toxic, causing nausea and vomiting. If the poison is not evacuated, cold sweat and vertigo appears. [[Respiration (physiology)|Respiration]] slows, cardiac rhythm and [[blood pressure]] falls, eventually leading to death. It is used externally by several Native American nations. Although is rarely ever used in modern herbalism due to its concentration of various [[alkaloid]]s, it has been used in the past against [[hypertension|high blood pressure]] and [[tachycardia|rapid heartbeat]]; a standardized extract of ''V. viride'' alkaloids known as ''alkavervir'' was used in the 1950s and 1960s as an [[antihypertensive]].<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=eY4wAAAAIAAJ&q=alkavervir&dq=alkavervir |title=New and Nonofficial Drugs |author=Council on Drugs ([[American Medical Association]]) |year=1964 |publisher=[[Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|J. B. Lippincott]] |pages=297–9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?alkavervir |title=alkavervir |publisher=[[Newcastle University|University of Newcastle upon Tyne]] Centre for Cancer Education |work=Online Medical Dictionary |date=n.d. |accessdate=2008-08-31}}</ref> The root contains even higher concentrations than the aerial parts.<ref name=pfaf>Plants for a Future: [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Veratrum+viride ''Veratrum viride'']</ref> The plant was used by some tribes to elect a new leader. All the candidates would eat the root, and the last to start vomiting would become the new leader.<ref>Fleurbec Group (ed), 1981, ''Plantes cauvages comestibles''. Saint-henri-de-Lévis, Quebec, Canada. ISBN 2-920174-03-7</ref> ==References== {{commons|Veratrum viride}} {{reflist}} [[Category:Veratrum]] [[Category:Medicinal plants]] [[Category:Poisonous plants]] [[az:Yaşıl asırqal]] [[es:Veratrum viride]] [[fr:Veratrum viride]] [[sv:Grön nysrot]]'