A small family, widely distributed; very smooth, tender, perennial
herbs, with watery juice; alternate, compound leaves, finely cut, lobed
and fringed into many divisions, and irregular, perfect flowers, of
peculiar shape, with two, scale-like sepals, and four petals, the inner
pair narrower than the outer and united by their tips over the stamens
and style. The six stamens are in two, equal sets, the filaments of
each set somewhat united, the middle anther of each set with two cells,
the others with only one. The superior ovary develops into a long, dry,
one-celled capsule, containing shiny, black seeds. This family has been
united to the Poppies by Bentham and Hooker, because the plan of the
flowers is similar, though their appearance is unlike.
There are several kinds of Bicuculla, natives of North America and
Asia; perennials, with beautiful foliage and decorative flowers, of
the curious and intricate shape we are familiar with in old-fashioned
gardens. The pedicels have two bracts; the corolla is heart-shaped at
base; the outer pair of petals are oblong and concave, with spreading
tips and spurred or pouched at base, the inner pair are narrow and
clawed, with crests or wings on the back; the style is slender, with a
two-lobed stigma, each lobe with two crests. The creeping rootstock is
surrounded by a bulb-like cluster of fleshy grains. These plants are
often called Dutchman's Breeches, from the shape of the flower, which,
of course, also gives the pretty name Bleeding Heart. Bicuculla is from
the Latin, meaning "double-hooded."
[Sidenote: =Bleeding Heart=
_Bicucúlla formòsa (Dicentra)_
=Pink
Summer
Cal., Oreg., Wash.=]
This is a very beautiful and interesting plant, about two feet tall,
with delicate pale-green leaves, beautifully cut and lobed, all from
the root, with very long leaf-stalks, and a few, graceful sprays of
purplish-pink flowers, each about three-quarters of an inch long.
This has a fleshy, spreading rootstock and grows in shady spots, in
rich, moist woods, at moderate altitudes, but is not very common. It
is found in the Yosemite Valley. _B. uniflòra_ is a diminutive alpine
plant, from one to three inches high, usually with only one white or
flesh-colored flower, about half an inch long, which is often hidden
among dead leaves. This grows in rich soil on mountain sides in the
Wasatch and Teton Mountains and in the Sierra Nevada, and is found in
the Yosemite Valley and on Mt. Lyall, at a height of ten thousand five
hundred feet. This is called Squirrel Corn and Steer's Head.
[Illustration: Bleeding Heart--Bicuculla formosa.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Golden Eardrops=
_Bicucúlla chrysántha (Dicentra)_
=Yellow
Summer
California=]
The general appearance of this handsome plant is striking and Japanese
in effect, and the coloring of the feathery, pale-green foliage and
the golden-yellow flowers is exceedingly odd and beautiful. The large,
finely-cut leaves are sometimes a foot long, and resemble delicate
ferns, and the smooth, stout, rather coarse flower-stems bear a few
pretty flowers, which are a soft shade of yellow, about three-quarters
of an inch long, the usual Bleeding Heart shape, but not drooping,
and with a strong narcotic odor, much like that of poppies. This is
sometimes as much as four feet high and grows in sunny places on dry
ridges in the Coast Ranges, but is nowhere common.
There are many kinds of Capnoides, natives of the north temperate zone
and Africa. They have oddly-shaped flowers, something like Bleeding
Heart, but with only one spur, at the back on the upper side, instead
of two. The name is from the Greek, meaning "smokelike," in allusion to
the odor of some kinds.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Golden Eardrops--Bicuculla chrysantha.]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: =Golden Corydal=
_Capnoìdes aùreum_ (_Corydalis_)
=Yellow
Spring
West=]
This has hollow, branching and spreading stems, from six to fourteen
inches tall, with very pretty, delicate, pale-green foliage and
bright-yellow flowers, each about half an inch long, on slender
pedicels, in a loose cluster. The spurs give them a quaint and pert
effect. The style stays on the tip of the long curved capsule, which
looks like a bean-pod, drooping or sticking out at an awkward angle
from the stem. This is especially fine in some of the mountain valleys
in Utah, making beautiful clumps of foliage; it is widely distributed
and is also found in the East. In the West it is sometimes called
Dutchman's Breeches and confused with that plant, but rather absurdly
so, for the Dutchman could have only one leg!
[Sidenote: =Pink Corydalis=
_Capnoìdes Scoúleri_ (_Corydalis_)
=Pink
Summer
Wash., Oreg.=]
A very beautiful and decorative plant, two or three feet tall, with
large, exceedingly graceful leaves, vivid yet delicate in color and
thin in texture, beautifully cut and lobed. The flowers are about
an inch long, pale-pink shaded with deeper color, each with a long,
cylindrical spur, and form pretty clusters, which show up very
effectively against the tender green of the large clumps of delicate
foliage, which are conspicuously beautiful. This grows in rich soil, in
mountain woods, and is charming in the forests in Mt. Rainier National
Park.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Golden Corydal--C. aureum.