Dicentra

Dicentra
Dicentra cucullaria (type species)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Papaveraceae
Subfamily: Fumarioideae
Tribe: Fumarieae
Subtribe: Corydalinae
Genus: Dicentra
Bernh.
Species

8 (see below)

Synonyms

Diclytra Borkh. nom. rej.[1]
Dielytra = orthographic variant of Diclytra[1]
Possible synonyms:[2] Lamprocapnos Endl.
Ehrendorferia Fukuhara & Lidén
Ichtyoselmis Lidén & Fukuhara

Dicentra (bleeding-heart; Greek dís "twice", kéntron "spur")[3] is a genus of eight species of herbaceous plants with oddly shaped flowers and finely divided leaves, native to eastern Asia and North America.

Description

Flowers have two tiny sepals and four petals. The flowers are bisymmetric: the two outer petals are spurred or pouched at the base and curved outwards or backwards at the tip, and the two inner ones with or without a crest at the tip. In Dicentra, all leaves are in a basal rosette, and flowers are on leafless stalks. In other genera with bisymmetric heart-shaped flowers (Lamprocapnos, Dactylicapnos, Ichtyoselmis, Ehrendorferia), leaves grow on stems as well as from the root.[4] Each of the two compound stamens is composed of one median and two lateral half stamens fused together. The stamens and pistil are held between the inner petals.

Seeds with elaiosomes are borne in long pods.

All parts are poisonous if ingested.

Taxonomy

Current species

The genus Dicentra includes plants whose flowers and leaves grow on stems directly from the roots. Species with branching stems used to be included in the genus, but have now been moved to other genera.[4]

  1. Dicentra canadensis (Goldie) Walp.
    squirrel-corn
  2. Dicentra cucullaria (L.) Bernh.
    Dutchman's-breeches
  3. Dicentra eximia (Ker-Gawl.) Torr.
    fringed bleeding-heart, turkey-corn
  4. Dicentra formosa (Haw.) Walp.
    western or Pacific bleeding-heart
    • Dicentra formosa subsp. formosa
    • Dicentra formosa subsp. oregana
  5. Dicentra nevadensis Eastw.
    Sierra bleeding-heart
  6. Dicentra pauciflora S. Wats.
    short-horn steer's-head
  7. Dicentra peregrina (Rudolphi) Makino
    komakusa
  8. Dicentra uniflora Kellogg
    long-horn steer's-head

These species names are synonyms of the names above:

Hybrids and cultivars

Two bleeding-heart hybrids: Dicentra 'King of Hearts' (deep pink) and Dicentra 'Ivory Hearts' (white)

There are several hybrids and cultivars involving Dicentra eximia, Dicentra formosa, and Dicentra peregrina, including:

Hybrids involving Dicentra peregrina are often intolerant of hot-humid climates and sun like the species itself.

Former species

The genera Dactylicapnos, Ichtyoselmis, Ehrendorferia and Lamprocapnos were previously included as subgenera in Dicentra, but have been shown not to belong in this genus (see for example Flora of China web page)

References

  1. 1 2 International Plant Names Index
  2. ↑ GRIN taxonomy
  3. ↑ δίς, κέντρον. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  4. 1 2 Tebbitt, Mark; Lidén, Magnus; Zetterlund, Henrik (2008). Bleeding hearts, Corydalis, and their relatives. Timber Press. pp. 56–58.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dicentra.
Wikispecies has information related to: Dicentra
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