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Oregon bleeding heart, Pacific bleeding-heart, Pacific bleedinghearts, western bleeding-heart

dicentre à capuchon, Dutchman's-breeches, western Dutchman's breeches

Habit Plants perennial, scapose, from elongate, stout rhizomes. Plants perennial, scapose, from short rootstocks bearing pink to white, teardrop-shaped bulblets.
Leaves

(15-)25-40(-55) × (8-)12-20(-35) cm;

blade with 3-5 orders of leaflets and lobes;

abaxial surface and sometimes adaxial surface glaucous;

penultimate lobes oblong, distal ones usually coarsely 3-toothed at apex, (4-)10-20(-50) × (1.5-)3-4(-8) mm.

(10-)14-16(-36) × (4-)6-14(-18) cm;

petiole (5-)8-16(-24) cm;

blade with 4 orders of leaflets and lobes;

abaxial surface glaucous; ultimate lobes linear to linear-elliptic or linear-obovate, (2-)5-15(-23) × (0.4-)2-3(-4.2) mm, usually minutely apiculate.

Inflorescences

paniculate, 2-30-flowered, usually exceeding leaves;

bracts linear-lanceolate, 4-7(-12) × 1-2 mm, apex acuminate.

racemose, 3-14-flowered, usually exceeding leaves;

bracts minute.

Flowers

pendent;

sepals lanceolate to ovate or nearly round, 2-7 × 2-3 mm;

petals rose-purple, pink, cream, or pale yellow, rarely white;

outer petals (12-)16-19(-24) × 3-6 mm, reflexed portion 2-5 mm;

inner petals (12-)15-18(-22) mm, blade 2-4 mm wide, claw linear-elliptic to linear-lanceolate, 7-10(-12) × 1-2 mm, crest 1-2 mm diam., exceeding apex by 1-2 mm;

filaments of each bundle connate from base to shortly below anthers except for a 2-3 mm portion of median filament just above base; nectariferous tissue borne along distinct portion of median filament;

style 3-9 mm;

stigma rhomboid, 2-horned.

pendent;

pedicels (2-)4-7(-12) mm;

sepals broadly ovate, 1.8-5 × 1.3-4 mm;

petals white, frequently suffused pink, apex yellow to orange-yellow;

outer petals (10-)12-16(-20) × (3-)6-10(-13) mm, reflexed portion 2-5 mm;

inner petals (7.5-)9-12(-14) mm, blade 1.8-4 mm, claw linear, 4-8 × less than 1 mm, crest prominent, ca. 2 mm diam.;

filaments of each bundle connate from base to shortly below anthers; nectariferous tissue forming 1-3(-4.5) mm spur diverging at angle from base of bundle;

style 2-4 mm;

stigma 2-horned with 2 lateral papillae.

Capsules

oblong, 4-5 mm diam.

ovoid, attenuate at both ends, (7-)9-13(-16) × 3-5 mm.

Seeds

reniform, ca. 2 mm diam., finely reticulate, elaiosome present.

reniform, ca. 2 mm diam., very obscurely reticulate, elaiosome present.

2n

= 32.

Dicentra formosa

Dicentra cucullaria

Phenology Flowering early–late spring.
Habitat Deciduous woods and clearings, in rich loam soils
Elevation 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; NB; NS; ON; PE; QC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Andrews has been cited almost universally as the author of Fumaria formosa. However, Haworth's authorship of the sixth volume of Andrews' Botanists' Repository (in which this species was originally described) generally has been overlooked, and it was actually Haworth who first delineated F. formosa (W. T. Stearn 1944).

Early attempts to cross Dicentra formosa with D. eximia (2n = 16) failed, possibly because the D. formosa parents were tetraploids. Several later hybrids between the two species received plant patents and have become widely marketed throughout the flora area and elsewhere (K. R. Stern 1961, 1968; K. R. Stern and M. Ownbey 1971).

Both subspecies, as well as hybrids between them and Dicentra eximia, are widely cultivated.

The Skagit used a decoction of the roots of Dicentra formosa to expel worms; they chewed raw roots for toothaches (D. E. Moerman 1986, species not indicated).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Dicentra cucullaria is occasionally confused with D. canadensis, with which it is sympatric. It is distinguished from that species by its basally pointed (versus rounded) outer petal spurs, by its flowers lacking a fragrance, by flowering 7-10 days earlier, and by its pink to white, teardrop-shaped (versus yellow, pea-shaped) bulblets.

After fruit set, the bulblets of both Dicentra cucullaria and D. canadensis remain dormant until fall, when stored starch is converted to sugar. At this time also, flower buds and leaf primordia are produced below ground; these then remain dormant until spring (P. G. Risser and G. Cottam 1968; B. J. Kieckhefer 1964; K. R. Stern 1961). Pollination of both species is effected by bumblebees (Bombus spp.) and other long-tongued insects (L. W. Macior 1970, 1978; K. R. Stern 1961).

Flavonoid components indicate that Dicentra canadensis and D. cucullaria are more closely related to each other than to any other member of the genus (D. Fahselt 1971). Even so, species purported to be hybrids between them probably are not. There is considerable variation in floral morphology within D. cucullaria, which can have flowers superficially resembling those of D. canadensis. However, when all characters of the plants are examined, these putative hybrids almost always are clearly assignable to one species or the other.

The western populations of Dicentra cucullaria appear to have been separated from the eastern ones for at least a thousand years. The western plants are generally somewhat coarser, which apparently led Rydberg to designate the western populations as a separate species. Plants from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, however, are virtually indistinguishable from those of the West, and much of the variation (which is considerable) within the species probably involves phenotypic response to the environment, or represents ecotypes within the species.

The Iroquois prepared infusions from the roots of Dicentra cucullaria for a medicinal liniment (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Petals rose-purple to pink, rarely white; leaf blades adaxially not glaucous (rarely glaucescent).
subsp. formosa
1. Petals cream-colored or rarely pale yellow, rose-tipped; leaf blades adaxially distinctly glaucous.
subsp. oregana
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Fumariaceae > Dicentra Fumariaceae > Dicentra
Sibling taxa
D. canadensis, D. chrysantha, D. cucullaria, D. eximia, D. nevadensis, D. ochroleuca, D. pauciflora, D. uniflora
D. canadensis, D. chrysantha, D. eximia, D. formosa, D. nevadensis, D. ochroleuca, D. pauciflora, D. uniflora
Subordinate taxa
D. formosa subsp. formosa, D. formosa subsp. oregana
Synonyms Fumaria formosa, D. saccata Fumaria cucullaria, Bicuculla cucullaria, Bicuculla occidentalis, D. cucullaria var. occidentalis
Name authority (Haworth) Walpers: Repert. Bot. Syst. 1: 118. (1842) (Linnaeus) Bernhardi: Linnaea 8: 457, 468. (1833)
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