''Dicentra eximia'' (wild or fringed bleeding-heart, turkey-corn) is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

with fernlike leaves and oddly shaped flowers native to the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. It is similar to the Pacific bleeding-heart (''

Dicentra formosa ''Dicentra formosa'' (western, wild or Pacific bleeding heart) is a flowering plant with fern-like leaves and an inflorescence of drooping pink, purple, yellow or cream flowers native to the Pacific Coast of North America.Sierra Nevada Wildflower ...

''), which grows on the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

. ''Dicentra eximia'' is a perennial herb in the

Papaveraceae The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperat ...

family.

Description

Leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are finely divided and gray-green, growing from the base of the plant.

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are pink and bloom in tight clusters at the top of leafless, fleshy stems above the leaves from mid-

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...

. The four

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are connected at the base. The two outer petals are pouched at the base and bent back at the tips. The inner petals are perpendicular to the outer petals and connected at the tip. The

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

is enclosed within the inner petals, and the two

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s are on either side. There are two tiny, triangular, pink sepals above the petals.

Seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s are borne in a plump, pointed pod. They ripen to black while the pod is still green. Each has a white

elaiosome Elaiosomes ( grc, ἔλαιον ''élaion'' "oil" + ''sóma'' "body") are fleshy structures that are attached to the seeds of many plant species. The elaiosome is rich in lipids and proteins, and may be variously shaped. Many plants have elaio ...

prized by

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

s. Pacific bleeding-heart (''

'') is frequently confused with and sold as ''Dicentra eximia''. It has wider, more rounded flowers with shorter wings on the outer petals (see the photo below). Fringed bleeding-heart buds.JPG, A cluster of buds Fringed bleeding-heart buds2.jpg, Almost opened flowers Fringed bleeding-heart flower cluster.jpg, A cluster of opened flowers Dicentra eximia vs Dicentra Luxuriant.jpg, Flower shape: ''Dicentra'' 'Luxuriant' (a ''Dicentra formosa'' hybrid) compared with ''Dicentra eximia'' Dicentra eximia flower dissection.png, The flower's structure: four petals, two stamens, and a stigma Dicentra eximia pod.jpg, Pod and ripe seeds with white elaiosomes

Ecology

Fringed bleeding-heart is native to the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

from southwestern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

south to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. It typically grows in rocky woodland at an altitude of . It is known as a pollinator plant that attracts

hummingbirds Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics arou ...

and

bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

. File:Wild Bleeding Hearts.jpg, A plant with flowerbuds File:DicentraeximiaDolly.JPG, A wild plant growing amongst

Tuscarora sandstone The Silurian Tuscarora Formation — also known as Tuscarora Sandstone or Tuscarora Quartzite — is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, USA. Description The Tuscarora is a thin- to thick-bedded fine-gr ...

fragments in

Dolly Sods Wilderness The Dolly Sods Wilderness – originally simply Dolly Sods – is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, US, and is part of the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Dolly Sods ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

File:Dollyflowers1 ForestWander.JPG, Another wild plant in West Virginia

Cultivars

There are several

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s of ''Dicentra eximia''. Some are hybrids with ''

Dicentra peregrina ''Dicentra peregrina'' ( Japanese コマクサ ''komakusa'') is a herbaceous perennial growing from a rhizome, native to mountains in Japan and nearby areas of East Asia. Etymology The species name ''peregrina'' is Latin for "exotic, alien, fore ...

'' and ''

''. ;Dicentra eximia *''Dicentra eximia'' 'Alba' — white flowers *''Dicentra eximia'' 'Snowdrift' — larger white flowers ;Hybrids *''Dicentra'' 'Bountiful' — ''Dicentra formosa'' subsp. ''oregana'' × ''Dicentra eximia'' — rosy red flowers *''Dicentra'' 'King of Hearts' — ''Dicentra peregrina'' × (''Dicentra formosa'' subsp. ''oregana'' × ''Dicentra eximia'') — pink flowers, very finely cut leaves *''Dicentra'' 'Luxuriant' — ''Dicentra eximia'' × ''Dicentra peregrina'' — cherry-red flowers *''Dicentra'' 'Silversmith — ''Dicentra formosa'' subsp. ''oregana'' × ''Dicentra eximia'' — white, pink-flushed flowers *''Dicentra'' 'Stuart Boothman' — probably ''Dicentra formosa'' subsp. ''oregana'' × ''Dicentra eximia'' — deep pink flowers

References

External links

Flora of North America: ''Dicentra eximia''
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mapNative Plant Identification NetworkPlantFinder
— Kemper Center for Home Gardening, Missouri Botanical Garden {{Taxonbar, from=Q5272370 eximia Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Garden plants of North America