Flora of North America species comparison

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Dicentra

bleeding-heart, dicentre
Habit Herbs, annual or perennial, scapose or caulescent, from taproots, bulblets, tubers, or rhizomes.
Stems

when present erect, simple or branching, hollow at maturity.
Leaves

basal or cauline, compound;

blade with 2-4 orders of leaflets and lobes, margins entire, crenate, or serrate;

surfaces glabrous, sometimes glaucous.
Inflorescences

axillary, extra-axillary, leaf-opposed, or terminal, unifloral or else multifloral and thyrsoid, paniculate, racemose, or corymbose.
Flowers

bilaterally symmetric about each of 2 perpendicular planes;

sepals caducous;

corolla cordate to oblong in outline;

petals coherent or connate only basally, not spongy;

outer petals both swollen or spurred basally, usually keeled apically;

inner petals with blade fiddle-, spoon-, or arrowhead-shaped, claw linear-oblong to oblanceolate;

stamens with nectariferous tissue borne on median filament in each bundle and sometimes forming spur or loop that projects into swollen base of adjacent outer petal;

ovary broadly ovoid or obovoid to narrowly cylindric;

stigma persistent, with 2 lobes or apical horns, sometimes also with 2 lateral papillae.
Capsules

indehiscent or dehiscent and 2-valved.
Seeds

few-many, elaiosome usually present.
x

= 8.

Dicentra
Distribution
from USDA
Temperate North America and eastern Asia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 20 (9 in the flora).

About 35 isoquinoline alkaloids have been isolated from Fumariaceae, and such compounds are present in the tissues of all species. Some of these alkaloids have been used medicinally, mostly in the past. The drug complex corydalis, which contains several alkaloids extracted from the bulblets of Dicentra canadensis and D. cucullaria, has been used as a healing agent in chronic skin diseases, as a tonic and diuretic, and in the treatment of syphilis. The alkaloid bulbocapnine, obtained from all parts of D. canadensis, has been used in the treatment of Ménière's disease and muscular tremors, and as a pre-anaesthetic. Cattle find D. cucullaria and D. canadensis distasteful and usually do not ingest the plants unless suitable forage is unavailable; when they do, however, the toxic alkaloid cucullarine brings about local anaesthesia, narcosis, convulsions, and death. A decoction from the rhizome of D. formosa has been used in the Pacific Northwest to expel intestinal worms (D. E. Moerman 1986).

Dicentra spectabilis (Linnaeus) Lemaire is cultivated through much of the flora area. It was introduced in Europe only in the middle of the 19th century, but it has been cultivated for centuries in temperate China and Japan, where it is now so widespread that the limits of its natural distribution are obscure. It does not appear to be truly naturalized in North America, but it may be encountered as a transitory garden relict or escape. It differs from D. ochroleuca and D. chrysantha in having rose-purple to pink or sometimes white outer petals, pendent flowers, and reticulate seeds with elaiosomes.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Plants with evident stems, not scapose.
→ 2
1. Plants without evident stems, scapose.
→ 3
2. Petals dull to yellowish white, 15–30 mm; inflorescences subglobose; seeds ca. 1.3 mm diam. (rarely to 2 mm diam.).
D. ochroleuca
2. Petals golden yellow, 10–22 mm; inflorescences elongate; seeds 1.5–2.2 mm diam.
D. chrysantha
3. Plants with elongate rhizomes; bulblets or tubers absent.
→ 4
3. Plants without elongate rhizomes (occasionally with rhizomes in D. pauciflora); short, bulblet- or tuber-bearing rootstock, or cluster of spindle-shaped tubers, or combination of tubers and bulblets present.
→ 6
4. Reflexed portions of outer petals 4–8 mm; e United States.
D. eximia
4. Reflexed portions of outer petals 2–5 mm; w North America.
→ 5
5. Stamen bundles with median filament essentially connate with others.
D. formosa
5. Stamen bundles with median filament forming distinct angular loop extending outward above base.
D. nevadensis
6. Plants with well-developed bulblets; nectariferous tissue forming spur.
→ 7
6. Bulblets absent or minute (less than 1 mm diam.); nectariferous tissue not forming spur.
→ 8
7. Bulblets globose, yellow; nectariferous spur 1 mm or less.
D. canadensis
7. Bulblets teardrop-shaped, pink to white; nectariferous spur 1–3(–4.5) mm.
D. cucullaria
8. Flowers 1–3 per inflorescence; non-reflexed portions of outer petals usually 12 mm or more; blades of inner petals narrowly spoon-shaped, never triangular or lanceolate.
D. pauciflora
8. Flowers solitary; non-reflexed portions of outer petals usually less than 7 mm; blades of inner petals triangular to lanceolate or spoon-shaped.
D. uniflora
Source FNA vol. 3. Author: Kingsley R. Stern.
Parent taxa Fumariaceae
Subordinate taxa
D. canadensis, D. chrysantha, D. cucullaria, D. eximia, D. formosa, D. nevadensis, D. ochroleuca, D. pauciflora, D. uniflora
Synonyms Bikukulla, Bikukulla
Name authority Bernhardi: Linnaea 8: 457, 468. 1833, name conserved
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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