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Dicentra cucullaria
Also called Dutchman's Britches, Soldier's Cap, Turkey Corn, Dutchman’s Breeches, Ear Drops, Snowboys, Soldier’s Cap
A small spring-flowering woodland perennial from eastern North America, grown for its finely divided foliage and white, breeches-shaped flowers. It needs rich, moist, shaded woodland conditions and goes dormant in summer.
Dicentra cucullaria, Dutchman's britches, or Dutchman's breeches, is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to rich woods of eastern North America, with a disjunct population in the Columbia Basin.
The common name Dutchman's breeches derives from their white flowers that look like white breeches.
Dutchman's breeches were likely introduced to cultivation in England when Philip Miller introduced it to the Chelsea Physic Garden. Miller likely received it from John Bartram. The species was, however, not mentioned in American horticultural literature until the early 19th century.
Two clones with pink flowers have received cultivar names: 'Pittsburg', which turns pink under certain conditions, and 'Pink Punk', collected by Henrik Zetterlund on Saddle Mountain in Oregon, is more consistently pink.
Dicentra cucullaria is dependent on bumblebees (especially Bombus bimaculatus, a common eastern North American species) for cross-pollination. In fact, the flower structure and mechanism by which it is pollinated indicate that it is adapted for bumblebees, which can separate the outer and inner petals of the flower. They will then use their front legs to expose the stigma, stamen, and anthers. Shortly afterwards, they will sweep pollen in a forward stroke by utilizing their middle legs, before leaving the flower to return to the colony with the pollen. In this way, D. cucullaria is pollinated as the bees move from plant to plant, and the bumblebee meets its dietary needs.
Native Americans and early white practitioners considered this plant useful for syphilis, skin conditions and as a blood purifier. Dutchman's breeches contains several isoquinoline-type alkaloids that may have effects on the brain and heart.
Squirrel corn · Turkey corn · Pacific bleeding heart · Komakusa · Bleeding heart
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dicentra cucullaria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
