Dicentra pauciflora
Encyclopedia
Dicentra pauciflora is a species of flowering plant in Dicentra
, the genus containing the bleeding-hearts. Its common names include shorthorn steer's head and few-flowered bleeding-heart. This perennial wildflower is native to the US states of Oregon
and California
, where it grows high in the mountains in gravelly soils. This is a short bleeding-heart, approaching 10 centimeters in maximum height. From a rhizome
beneath the soil it extends several erect petioles
, each holding a leaf divided into leaflets which are each divided into smooth, fingerlike lobes. It also erects a thin stem
which is topped with an inflorescence
of one to three nodding flowers. Each flower is a shade of pink or purple to white, with two curving outer petals flexed back against the flower, and inner petals extended straight outward. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimeter long.
Dicentra
Dicentra is a genus of 8 species of perennial herbaceous plants in the fumitory family, many with heart-shaped flowers, native to eastern Asia and North America.-Description:...
, the genus containing the bleeding-hearts. Its common names include shorthorn steer's head and few-flowered bleeding-heart. This perennial wildflower is native to the US states of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows high in the mountains in gravelly soils. This is a short bleeding-heart, approaching 10 centimeters in maximum height. From a rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
beneath the soil it extends several erect petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
, each holding a leaf divided into leaflets which are each divided into smooth, fingerlike lobes. It also erects a thin stem
Plant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
which is topped with an inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
of one to three nodding flowers. Each flower is a shade of pink or purple to white, with two curving outer petals flexed back against the flower, and inner petals extended straight outward. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimeter long.