Dicentra eximia

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Ordo: Ranunculales

Familia: Papaveraceae
Subfamilia: Fumarioideae
Tribus: Dicentreae
Genus: Dicentra
Species: Dicentra eximia
Name

Dicentra eximia (Ker Gawl.) Torr., Fl. New York 1: 46. 1843.
Synonyms

Basionym

Fumaria eximia Ker Gawl., Bot. Reg. 1: pl. 50. 1815.

Homotypic

Bicuculla eximia (Ker Gawl.) Millsp. Fl. W. Va. 327. 1892.
Bikukulla eximia (Ker Gawl.) Druce, Rep. Bot. Exch. Cl. Brit. Isles, 1920, 6. 14. 1921.
Capnorchis eximia (Ker Gawl.) Planch., Fl. des Serres Ser. 1, 8. 193. 1852-53.
Capnorchis eximia (Ker Gawl.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 15. 1891.
Corydalis eximia (Ker Gawl.) Link, Enum. Hort. Berol. Alt. 2: 218. 1822.
Diclytra eximia (Ker Gawl.) DC., Syst. Nat. (de Candolle) 2: 109. 1821.
Dielytra eximia (Ker Gawl.) G.Don, Gen. Hist. 1: 140. 1831.
Dielytra eximia (Ker Gawl.) Hook., Fl. Bor.-Amer. (Hooker) 1. 35.
Eucapnos eximius (Ker Gawl.) Bernh., Linnaea 8: 468. 1833.

Heterotypic

Fumaria formosa Poir., Encycl. Suppl. 6: 684. 1817.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northen America
Regional: Western USA
Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
Introduced into
Czechoslovakia, Germany, Great Britain, Illinois, Vermont

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Torrey, J. 1843. A flora of the state of New-York: comprising full descriptions of all the indigenous and naturalized plants hitherto discovered in the state with remarks on their economical and medicinal properties. Vol. 1. 458 pp., 71 pl. Carroll & Cook, printers to the Assembly, Albany. BHL Reference page. ː 1:46.

Additional references

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (1997). Flora of North America North of Mexico 3: 1-590. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2025. Dicentra eximia in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2025 January 21. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2025. 21. Published online. Accessed: January 2025. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2025. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Dicentra eximia. Accessed: 21 January 2025.
Tropicos.org 2025. Dicentra eximia. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 21 January 2025.

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USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. January in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 2025.

Vernacular names

Dicentra eximia (wild or fringed bleeding-heart, turkey-corn) is a flowering plant with fernlike leaves and oddly shaped flowers native to the Appalachian Mountains. It is similar to the Pacific bleeding-heart (Dicentra formosa), which grows on the Pacific Coast. Dicentra eximia is a perennial herb in the Papaveraceae family.[2]
Description

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

Flowers are pink and bloom in tight clusters at the top of leafless, fleshy stems above the leaves from mid-spring to autumn. The four petals 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 is enclosed within the inner petals, and the two stamens are on either side. There are two tiny, triangular, pink sepals above the petals.

Seeds are borne in a plump, pointed pod. They ripen to black while the pod is still green. Each has a white elaiosome prized by ants.

Pacific bleeding-heart (Dicentra formosa) 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).

Ecology

Fringed bleeding-heart is native to the Appalachians from southwestern Pennsylvania south to Tennessee and North Carolina. It typically grows in rocky woodland at an altitude of 330 to 5,575 ft (100 to 1,700 m).[3] It is known as a pollinator plant that attracts hummingbirds and bees. [4]

Cultivars

There are several cultivars of Dicentra eximia. Some are hybrids with Dicentra peregrina and Dicentra formosa.[3]

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

NatureServe (5 January 2024). "Dicentra eximia". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
"Dicentra eximia - Plant Finder". www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
Tebbitt, Mark; Lidén, Magnus; Zetterlund, Henrik (2008). Bleeding hearts, Corydalis, and their relatives. Timber Press. pp. 61–63. ISBN 978-0881928822 – via Internet Archive.
Ley, Elizabeth. "Selecting Plants for Pollinators - Central Appalachian Broadleaf Forest" (PDF).