Appearance
Leaves are finely divided and fernlike, growing from the base of the plant.Flowers are pink, red, or white and heart-shaped and bloom in clusters at the top of leafless, fleshy stems above the leaves from mid-spring to autumn, with peak flowering in spring. The four petals are attached at the base. The two outer petals form a pouch at the base and curve outwards at the tips. The two inner petals are perpendicular to the outer petals and connected at the tip. There are two tiny, pointed sepals behind the petals. Seeds are borne in plump, pointed pods. The plant self-seeds readily. It frequently goes dormant for the summer after flowering, emerging and flowering again in autumn.
Naming
This species is frequently confused with and sold as ''Dicentra eximia'', which has narrower flowers and longer, more curved outer petal tips. ''D. formosa'' is related to ''Lamprocapnos spectabilis'', another popular plant called "bleeding heart", which was formerly placed in the same genus.There are two subspecies:⤷ ''Dicentra formosa'' subsp. ''formosa'' — leaves glaucous beneath and never glaucous above, flowers purple pink to pink or whitewestern slope of Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges to central California, Cascades, extreme southwestern British Columbia
⤷ ''Dicentra formosa'' subsp. ''oregona'' — leaves glaucous above and beneath, flowers cream or pale yellowsmall area of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon
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