Flora of North America species comparison

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Dicentra pauciflora

few flower dicentra, few-flower bleeding-heart, shorthorn steer's-head
Habit Plants perennial, scapose, from rhizomes or clusters of spindle-shaped tubers, bulblets often present at proximal ends of tubers or along rhizomes.
Leaves

(7-)9-13(-16) × 3-7(-10) cm;

petiole (2-)4-7(-10) cm;

blade with 3-4 orders of leaflets and lobes; ultimate lobes linear-lanceolate, (2-)7-13(-18) × 1.5-3 mm, occasionally irregular, minutely apiculate.
Inflorescences

racemose, 1-3-flowered, barely exceeding leaves;

bracts ovate, 4-5 × 2-3 mm.
Flowers

erect to nodding;

pedicels 5-25 mm;

sepals ovate to lanceolate, 5-8 × 2-4 mm;

outer petals white to pink, (15-)18-22(-25) × 3-6 mm, reflexed portion (5-)7-8(-11) mm;

inner petals purple, (15-)18-22(-24) mm, blade spoon-shaped, 2-3 mm, claw obovate-elliptic, ca. 10 × 3-4 mm, crest absent;

filaments of each bundle connate at base and near apex, distinct in between, distinct portion of median filament forming loop that almost doubles back to its proximal end; nectariferous tissue borne at lowermost point of loop and often extending to base of median filament;

style 7-11 mm;

stigma 2-lobed, much reduced, ca. 2 times wider than style.
Capsules

spindle-shaped to ovoid, 10-15 × 4-6 mm.
Seeds

reniform, ca. 2 mm diam., smooth, elaiosome present.
2n

= 16.

Dicentra pauciflora
Phenology Flowering late spring–late summer.
Habitat Openings in coniferous forests, in volcanic and granitic soils
Elevation 1200-2700 m (3900-8900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Fumariaceae > Dicentra
Sibling taxa
D. canadensis, D. chrysantha, D. cucullaria, D. eximia, D. formosa, D. nevadensis, D. ochroleuca, D. uniflora
Name authority S. Watson: Bot. California 2: 429. (1880)
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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(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

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