Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa)

The latin name "formosa" means "beautiful" , and is fitting for the plant’s delicate, heart-shaped flowers and lacy, fern-like foliage.

Bleeding hearts reseed themselves and can be quite prolific!

Bleeding Heart June 2 2020.jpg

Dicentra formosa

Pacific bleeding heart

Description:

  • Leaves: numerous fern-like segments with rounded edges, and often with a bluish, waxy coating.

  • Flowers: pink, heart-shaped blossoms with flared tips grow on upright stems and hang in clusters above foliage.

  • All parts of this plant are poisonous!

  • Rarity: Locally Common

  • Flowering Time: All Spring

  • Life Cycle: Perennial

  • Height: 6 to 20 inches

  • Habitat: Coastal, Meadow, West-Side Forest grows in damp shaded places or near large rocks

  • Found In: Siskiyous, Olympic Np, Mt. Rainier Np, Crater Lake Np, N Cascades Np

  • Native: Yes

Source: Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest

Additional resource: Oregon Flora Project