Veratrum viride Aiton - Liliaceae - American hellebore, green false hellebore, Amerikanischer Germer

Herbaceous perennial plant, native in North America. http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242102051

„The plant is highly toxic, causing nausea and vomiting. If the poison is not evacuated, cold sweat and vertigo appears. 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 alkaloids, it has been used in the past against high blood pressure and rapid heartbeat; a standardized extract of V. viride alkaloids known as „alkavervir“ was used in the 1950s and 1960s as an antihypertensive.“ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veratrum_viride

veratrum_viride.jpg
Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, t.1060-1101, vol.27 t.1096 (1808) [S.T.Edwards]
http://www.plantillustrations.org/species.php?id_species=1052685