Former poppy family kin: A The old-fashioned bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos [formerly Dicentra] spectabilis); B Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Alba’; C wood poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum); D Corydalis cheilanthifolia*; E Corydalis ochroleuca; F Lamprocapnos (syn. Dicentra) eximia.

 

If you had to guess what family the bleeding heart belonged to, poppies would probably not come to mind. Plants in the poppy genus (Papaver) are distinctive and easily recognizable, most often with chalice-shaped flowers having four to six petals with species in every color. Annual, biennial, or perennial Papaveraceae genera include Eschscholzia (California poppy), Meconopsis (Himalayan blue poppy), Stylophorum (wood poppy), Romneya (tree poppy, Matilija), species of Papaver (corn, Icelandic, Oriental poppy, etc.), and Macleaya, an odd exception with petal-less flowers.

The bleeding heart was once a member of the main Papaveraceae family, but custody of it and about half of the other species once lumped into the poppy clan has lately been given to the subfamily Fumariaceae. That family name probably derives from the term for smoke or fumes, since some of these plants may have been set alight and inhaled as medicines or hallucinogens.

There is debate as to whether Fumariaceae will one day emerge as a separate family. To add insult to injury, in 2010, an attempt was made to disband the genus Dicentra. This group was split into several new genera. The woodland types have been pushed into Lamprocapnos, although it is likely the old name will stick around. The climbing types will become either Ichthyoselmis or Dactylicapnos.

Lamprocapnos flowers are usually distinctive and complex, resulting in descriptive common names such as Dutchman’s breeches and squirrel corn. North American bleeding hearts include L. eximia and L. formosa. There is a climbing bleeding heart vine with dull pink blossoms, formerly Adluma fungosa, called Allegheny vine or climbing fumitory. Lamprocapnos scandens (which may be moved to Dactylicapnos) is a climbing bleeding heart with bright canary yellow flowers. Another genus, Corydalis, includes plants that have flowers like small versions of the American bleeding hearts in pink, yellow, cream, purple, or cyan.

Plants in both the Papaveraceae and Fumariaceae family have things in common. They all literally bleed. The poppies often have white latex that drips from the stems when they are cut or broken. Bleeding hearts, named for the shape of their flowers, have translucent amber juice. Another commonality is that most of these plants are poisonous. A familiar example is Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy, a hardy annual re-branded as the “breadseed poppy.”

Typical Papaveracea family members: one Oriental poppy (Papaver orientalis, top), two Icelandic poppies (P. nudicaule).