Hellebore number 3

Yet another one. I do hope my followers are not Hellebored. Sorry, I have a weakness for awful puns.

The photos I took on my 5 mile hike, partly in the rain, this morning were not very good. So here is something cheerful.

Those with some botanical curiosity might find the following enlightening.
The flowers of hellebores are botanically very special. In contrast to other plants the flower is formed by the sepals, which normally protect the flower, and not by the petals. The petals have been transformed into honey leaves during the development of flower. The honey leaves lure few insects, which are busy at the flowering time of the hellebores. The number of honey leaves reaches from five up to twenty but it can differ from species to species and from plant to plant.
The flowers of helleborus are not selective, so all types of insects can pollinate the flowers effectively. The sepals remain up to the ripening of seed and turn green after the flowers are fertilized.
The stamens are long white filaments with antlers and have two parts. There can be up to 150 stamens in one helleborus flower. Before they ripen the stamens accumulate around the carpels, the female elements of the flower, and expand during the development of the flower.

The number of carpels of a flower can be as few as three and up to ten. On one flower the carpels of the flower get ripe before the stamens. Cross pollination is increased, although the Helleborus is self-fertile.