Dicentra formosa

Pacific bleeding heart

Family: Papaveraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pacific bleeding heart is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, and northern central western California in damp, shaded areas at elevations below 2,400 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces rose-purple to cream or pale yellow flowers nodding delicately on graceful stems. Growing 20 to 45 centimeters tall with a rhizomatous root system, it spreads gently through woodland understories. Its complex leaves are 2-ternate-dissected, creating intricate feathery foliage spanning 20 to 50 centimeters with delicate green leaflets. The plant develops oblong fruits 14 to 20 millimeters long, adding subtle visual interest to its elegant botanical structure.

Habitat: Damp, shaded areas

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: < 2400 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, SNH, n CW

California counties: Humboldt, Amador, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Tulare, Placer, Butte, El Dorado, Shasta, Nevada, San Mateo, Trinity, Plumas, Tehama, Marin, Siskiyou, Calaveras, Yuba, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Del Norte, Glenn, Mendocino, Mariposa, Contra Costa, Fresno, Lake, Tuolumne, Colusa, Sonoma, Santa Clara, Madera, Alameda, Kern, Lassen, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.