Dicentra formosa
Bleeding heart is a native plant to the Northwest that is easily crowded out by the invasive Herb Robert, which is a Geranium species that looks like this:
The leaves of Bleeding Heart are fern like, but the flowers are the amazing part. They are heart-shaped and inflated and droop down in clusters.
Bleeding Heart grows along the Pacific Coast, Idaho, Alberta and Montana and it likes shady, moist thickets and forests.
As a Flower Essence, Bleeding Heart is used for heartbreak and loss, following the Doctrine of Signatures which suggests that what a plant resembles gives a clue as to its medicinal qualities. Bleeding Heart name is based on the Doctrine of Signatures.
Medicinally, the root is used and it is useful in situations where you need calming. As Herbalist
Michael Moore says in his book
Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West
, "Internally, the tincture will help calm down and center you if you are shaky, nervous, frightened, or uncontrollably angry as an aftermath of physical violence, an accident, rushing someone to the hospital, landing at LAX with one engine out - or taking a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles to change title on a car, but without a notarized bill of sale and with only four hours off from work within which to get in accomplished." **According to Michael, it is contraindicated in pregnancy and for people on prescriptions drugs. It can show up as a false positive for opiates on drug tests.**
