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Papaveraceae
Wild Bleeding Heart
Dicentra eximia
Devoted love and quiet endurance.
- Family
- Papaveraceae
- Genus
- Dicentra
- Native to
- Appalachian Mountains, eastern North America
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer, Early Fall
- Type
- herbaceous perennial
- Height
- 30–45 cm
- Sunlight
- part shade
- Soil
- moist, well-drained, rocky
- Water
- medium
- Hardiness
- 3–9
- Lifespan
- long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Unlike its Asian cousin Lamprocapnos spectabilis, this native blooms repeatedly from spring through fall.
- Its ferny blue-green foliage stays handsome all season instead of going dormant in midsummer.
- The seeds carry elaiosomes, oily packages that ants carry off and 'plant' for the seedlings.
- It thrives on rocky Appalachian outcrops where few other perennials can establish a foothold.
- All parts of the plant contain mild alkaloids — pretty to look at but not to nibble.
Color meanings
Pink
gentle affection that lingers
White
innocent first love