| Lamprocapnos spectabilis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Fumariaceae |
| Genus: | Lamprocapnos |
| Species: | L. spectabilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Lamprocapnos spectabilis (L.) Fukuhara |
|
| Synonyms [1] | |
|
Dicentra spectabilis (L.) Lem. |
|
Lamprocapnos spectabilis (formerly Dicentra spectabilis; old-fashioned bleeding-heart, Venus's car, Lady in a bath, Dutchman's trousers, or Lyre-flower) is a rhizomatous perennial plant native to eastern Asia from Siberia south to Japan.
Contents |
Compound leaves with leaflets in threes grow on fleshy green to pink stems up to 3 feet (0.9 m).
Flowers are heart-shaped and 1–2 inches (3–5 cm) long, with pink outer petals and white inner petals, hanging in a horizontal raceme. They bloom from late spring to early summer.
Seeds with whitish elaiosomes are borne in long pods.
The plant often goes dormant in summer after blooming.
It is a popular ornamental plant for flower gardens in temperate climates, and is also used in floristry as a cut flower. In a moist and cool climate, it will grow in full sun, but in warmer and drier climates it requires some shade.
Aphids, slugs and snails sometimes feed on the leaves.
Seeds must be sown while fresh. Division should be done in the late fall or early spring.
Contact with the plant can cause skin irritation in some people from isoquinoline-like alkaloids.[2][3]
Several cultivars have been selected. 'Alba' has white flowers, and 'Gold Heart', introduced from Hadspen Garden in 1997,[4] has yellow leaves.