The most common wild species of flower to grow in January is the hellebore. It's other name is "winter rose" because it looks similar in shape. They come in many varieties and is an evergreen.
Across Europe and the British Isles is a native green hellebore (helleborus viridis) that appears in January in the wilds, then flowers later. It looks like a green flower, which adds colour to the grey soil of a wintry landscape. Many more hellebores can be found on the Wikipedia page: Hellebore
Hellebore's have sepals that come in different colours and shades. Despite the title "rose" given to these plants, hellebores are not related to the rose family.
They're quite poisonous and more harmful to dogs. Gardeners Path explains more about the effects on animals that eat these plants: Toxic hellebore
Hellebores are associated with healing. Hippocrates, the Greek philosopher, cultivated hellebore's to use in medicine. In folklore, hellebore plants have been used to protect against evil spirits.
Here is an interesting page all about the hellebore found on Magickal site: Hellebore
Many types of hellebore for your garden at Epic Gardening: 17 types of hellebore
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