In her quest for the perfect double near-black hellebore, Marietta O'Byrne conceived this pristine selection. 

The very large 3", fully double flowers are slate purple to near-black and have 15-20 petals per flower, giving them a very full, fluffy appearance.  They are downward facing like most hellebores.  Once the flowers set seed, the petals retain much of their coloration and remain on the flower, surrounding the swelling seed pod, extending the interest long past the initial bloom time. 

The new foliage of this deep purple-black flowering selection is purple when it emerges in early spring before it matures into a lovely shade of green.

'Onyx Odyssey' was hybridized by Marietta O'Byrne of Eugene, Oregon.  Marietta has spent over 15 years pursuing her passion for hellebores, meticulously selecting and hand-crossing only the best stock plants which she has gathered from around the world. 

Remaining true to her German heritage, Marietta is very precise in her methods, keeping detailed breeding records and exact labels on all of her crosses, and maintaining excellent cultural practices.  Her goal is to develop true color strains of hellebores which are vigorous growers and produce large 2-3inch diameter flowers with a rounded form.  Only the most profuse bloomers make the cut in Marietta's breeding work.