Herb-paris - Paris quadrifolia
Low to short hairless, often patch forming plant with erect stems. It has four leaves in a single whorl halfway up the stem. Flowers, solitary, erect yellowish green and starry, four to six parted the sepals lanceolate pointed, the petals thread like with stamens prominent. The fruit is a berry-like capsule, black when ripe and splitting to reveal bright red seeds.
Woodland and damp shady habitats.
Late April to June
Perennial
Widespread but local in Britain.
Uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 12 of the 617 tetrads.
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
Enter a town or village to see local records
MAP KEY:
Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020
UK Map
Species profile
- Common names
- Herb-Paris
- Species group:
- Wildflowers
- Kingdom:
- Plantae
- Order:
- Liliales
- Family:
- Melanthiaceae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 18
- First record:
- 20/05/2009 (Neville, Dave)
- Last record:
- 05/04/2024 (Markham, Marian)
Total records by month
% of records within its species group
10km squares with records
The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.
In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.