![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/992ED7415CBB88760C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/992F2B415CBB88780C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/992F35415CBB887D0C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99224C415CBB88800F)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/992FEF415CBB88830C)
Dutchman's breeches or Dicentra cucullaria, is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to rich woods of eastern North America, with a disjunct population in the Columbia Basin.[1]
The common name Dutchman's breeches derives from their white flowers that look like white breeches.
Description[edit]
The rootstock is a cluster of small pink to white teardrop-shaped bulblets (more precisely, miniature tubers). Leaves are 10–36 cm (4–14 1⁄4 in) long and 4–18 cm (1 1⁄2–7 in) broad, with a petiole (leaf stalk) 5–24 cm (2–9 1⁄2 in) long. They are trifoliate, with finely divided leaflets.[2][3][4]
The flowers usually white, rarely suffused with pink, 1–2 cm (1⁄2–3⁄4 in) long. They are produced in early spring in racemes of 3 to 14 flowers on peduncles (flower stalks) 12–25 cm (4 3⁄4–9 3⁄4 in) long. Unlike the closely related Dicentra canadensis (squirrel corn), the flowers lack fragrance.[2]
The pistil of a pollinated flower develops into a slender pod 7–16 mm (1⁄4–5⁄8 in) long and 3–5 mm (1⁄8–3⁄16 in), narrowed to a point on both ends. The capsule splits in half when the seeds are ripe. The seeds are kidney-shaped, with a faint netlike pattern. Each one has a fleshy organ called an elaiosome[2] that attracts ants. Dutchman's breeches is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes, and put the seeds in their nest debris, where they are protected until they germinate. They also get the added bonus of growing in a medium made richer by the ant nest debris.
The leaves and flower stems die back in late spring after the seed has ripened, and the bulblets remain dormant through the summer. In the fall, starch in the bulblets is converted to sugar, and the beginnings of the next spring's leaves and flowers develop below ground.[2]
The western populations have sometimes been separated as Dicentra occidentalis on the basis of often somewhat coarser growth, but do not differ from many eastern plants in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.[2]
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/993043415CBB88850C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9930A0415CBB88880C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99FD013D5CBB888B0C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99FD5D3D5CBB888D0C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99F0BF3D5CBB88910D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99FD913D5CBB88930C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99F0953D5CBB88950D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99FDB53D5CBB88980C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99F0CB3D5CBB889B0D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99E6E8395CBB889E0E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99DE1F395CBB88A010)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99E5FB395CBB88A20D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99DFC4395CBB88A50F)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99E743395CBB88A70E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99DC4A395CBB88AA11)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99E75D395CBB88AD0E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9927E3415CBB88AF0D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99282F415CBB88B20D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9928B7415CBB88B40D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/992927415CBB88B70D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/992945415CBB88BA0D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99234E415CBB88BC0E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9929A4415CBB88BF0D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99118E335CBB88C20D)
Violet
Viola (US: and UK: )[1]
is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae. It is the largest genus in the family, containing between 525 and 600 species.[2][3] Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, some are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes.
Some Viola species are perennial plants, some are annual plants, and a few are small shrubs. A large number of species, varieties and cultivars are grown in gardens for their ornamental flowers. In horticulture the term pansy is normally used for those multi-colored, large-flowered cultivars which are raised annually or biennially from seed and used extensively in bedding. The terms viola and violet are normally reserved for small-flowered annuals or perennials, including the wild species.[4][5]
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9911E6335CBB88C50D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9911EA335CBB88C80D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9912AA335CBB88CA0D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99123E335CBB88CD0D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99118A335CBB88CF0D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/991242335CBB88D10D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99E9D23C5CBB88D40D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99E9793C5CBB88D70C)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99E9FC3C5CBB88D90D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99E9D63C5CBB88DC0D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99EA3F3C5CBB88DF0D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99EA933C5CBB88E20D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99EA973C5CBB88E60D)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9963BD3E5CBB88E90E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99647D3E5CBB88EB0E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9961333E5CBB88ED0F)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9964853E5CBB88F00E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9964DF3E5CBB88F20E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9964D33E5CBB88F50E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/9964E33E5CBB88F80E)
![](https://t1.daumcdn.net/cfile/cafe/99F18E3D5CBB88FB0D)