Papaveraceae
Pacific bleeding heart
Dicentra formosa
- Family
- Papaveraceae
- Genus
- Dicentra
Pet and kid safety: not checked yet. Check pet-safe plants
Is yours looking unwell? Scan your plant — free
Common names
By language (13)
- Belarusian
- Дыцэнтра амерыканская
- Chinese
- 华丽荷包牡丹, 华丽马裤花
- Czech
- Srdcovka zdobná
- Danish
- Småhjerte
- English
- Pacific bleeding heart, Western bleeding heart, Wild bleeding heart
- Finnish
- Kesäpikkusydän
- German
- Amerikanische Herzblume, Pazifische Herzblume
- Norwegian Bokmål
- Småhjerte
- Russian
- Дицентра красивая
- Slovak
- Srdcovka menšia
- Swedish
- Fänrikshjärta
- Turkish
- Kanayan Kalpler, Ağlayan Kalpler
- Welsh
- Calon waedlyd
Synonyms
- Bicuculla formosa (Andrews) Howell
- Bikukulla formosa (Andrews) Coville
- Capnorchis formosa (Andrews) Planch.
- Corydalis biaurita Hornem.
- Corydalis formosa Spreng.
- Corydalis formosa (Andrews) Pursh
- Dicentra formosa subsp. formosa
- Dicentra formosa var. breviflora L.F.Hend.
- Dicentra formosa var. formosa
- Dicentra saccata (Nutt.) Walp.
- Diclytra formosa (Harv.) DC.
- Diclytra formosa (Andrews) DC.
- Dielytra formosa (Andrews) G.Don
- Dielytra formosa Spreng
- Dielytra saccata Nutt.
- Dielytra saccata Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray
- Eucapnos formosus (Andrews) Bernh.
- Fumaria biaurita Vahl ex Steud.
- Fumaria formosa Andrews
- Fumaria formosa Haw.
Flowers
- Flower colour
- purple (USDA PLANTS Database)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native
Toxicity: Moderate, as listed by the USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29). USDA rates how toxic a plant is to people or livestock; it is not a pet-safety rating, so ask a vet or poison line if a pet or child ate it.
Photos
Photo: Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Kurt Stüber [2], CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: QWerk, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Leslie Seaton from Seattle, WA, USA, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Tom Hilton, CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Dicentra
- Dicentra peregrinaPapaveraceae
- Dutchman's breechesDicentra cucullariaPapaveraceae
- Squirrel cornDicentra canadensisPapaveraceae
- Turkey cornDicentra eximiaPapaveraceae
- Sierra bleeding heartDicentra nevadensisPapaveraceae
- Shorthorn steer's-headDicentra paucifloraPapaveraceae
- Longhorn steer's-headDicentra unifloraPapaveraceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.