Looking like freshly laundered and starched pants that have been hung out to dry, the blossoms of the Dutchman’s Breeches sway back and forth in response to the slightest of breezes.
Each flower lasts just a few days and the plant stops blossoming once the forest canopy blocks the full sunlight. In fact, by mid-summer even the leaves will have disappeared and it may be hard to find any trace that it ever existed.
The shape of the flower easily explains the common name, but its structure also gave rise to its scientific name. Similar in appearance to its relatives Wild Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) and Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis), Linnaeus dubbed the genus Dielytra for the resemblance to insect wing cases (elytrae). The name was later changed to Dicentra, from the Greek language for double-spurred. The species name cucullaria means “hooded.”
Dutchman’s Breeches were once popular in wildflower gardens, but numerous authorities have cautioned parents of small children to refrain from including it. The plant is poisonous, containing several isoquinoline alkaloids, including aporhine and protopine, the latter of which is also found in opium poppies.
Flower Fast Facts
FLOWER: This uncommonly-shaped, three quarter inch, waxy flower looks like an upside-down pair of white, puffy pants. The outer two of its four petals have spurs that form a V, while the inner two have tips that are somewhat spoon-shaped. Several droop in a row from a single, arched stem.
LEAVES AND STEM: The three to six inch leaves are compound and grow upright on long stalks, which are attached to stems that may reach a height of twelve inches.
BLOOM SEASON: April to May
About This Series
“Mountain Wildflowers” features a wildflower from the Blue Ridge region each month from March to October. Leonard M. Adkins has written for Blue Ridge Country for more than two decades and is the author of 20 books about travel, hiking and nature. His Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail, which received the prestigious National Outdoor Book Award, provides the photographs and some of the information he writes about in each “Mountain Wildflowers.” It and his other works may be obtained through his website.
