Pacific bleeding heart ~ 03/25/14 ~ Lewis Creek

Pacific bleeding heart

Dicentra formosa

Papaveraceae (formerly Fumariaceae)

I really like bleeding hearts and rarely get to see them out in the wild closer to home. These don't quite look like the pale pink wider ones that I posted from Washington last year, but that may be because these blooms are young.  Maybe they'll lighten in color as they age?  Reported bloom times are June-July on Calflora and May-July on Yosemite Hikes.  Another early bloomer?

Pacific bleeding heart ~ 05/14/13 ~ Washington

Pacific bleeding heart

Dicentra formosa ssp. formosa
more information

Papaveraceae (formerly Fumariaceae)

This is one of three reported larval host plants for the clodius parnassian butterfly, with the other two hosts being D. pauciflora and D. uniflora.  The last time I saw this flower was at the annual wildflower show at Big Basin Redwoods State Park's coastal Rancho del Oso in Santa Cruz County on April 27, 2013. I can't recall if I've seen it anywhere else, because when I think of bleeding hearts I usually picture Lamprocapnos spectabilis, a very popular garden flower.