Lamprocapnos

Lamprocapnos
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Papaveraceae
Genus:	Lamprocapnos Endl.
Species:	L. spectabilis
Binomial name
Lamprocapnos spectabilis (L.)
Synonyms [1]
Dicentra spectabilis (L.) Lem. Dielytra spectabilis (L.) DC. Fumaria spectabilis L.

Lamprocapnos spectabilis, bleeding heart, fallopian buds or Asian bleeding-heart,^[2] is a species of flowering plant belonging to the fumitory subfamily (fumarioideae) of the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is native to Siberia, northern China, Korea and Japan. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus Lamprocapnos, but is still widely referenced under its old name Dicentra spectabilis (now listed as a synonym). It is valued in gardens and in floristry for its heart-shaped pink and white flowers, borne in spring.^[3][4]

Other common names include lyre flower, heart flower, and lady-in-a-bath.^[5]

Description[]

Flower buds.

The two inner petals are made visible when the two pink outer petals are pulled apart. Their shape inspired the common name "lady-in-a-bath" and the more decorous "Our Lady in a boat"

The Asian bleeding-heart grows to 120 cm (47 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) wide. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial with 3-lobed compound leaves on fleshy green to pink stems. The arching horizontal racemes of up to 20 pendent flowers are borne in spring and early summer. The outer petals are bright fuchsia-pink, while the inner ones are white. The flowers strikingly resemble the conventional heart shape, with a droplet beneath – hence the common name.^[4]

The plant sometimes behaves as a spring ephemeral, becoming dormant in summer.^[3]

Habitat[]

In Korea L. spectabilis behaves as a shade-loving chasmophyte, growing in rock crevices at low altitudes in the mountains of the central and southern parts of the country. ^[6]

Distribution[]

L. spectabilis has been cultivated as an ornamental species for so long in its native Northeast Asia that it has become hard to determine in which regions it is native and in which introduced.^[4] In China the plant grows wild in the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. Within Korea, L. formosa occurs in the foothills of Jeonnam, Gyeongnam Mount Jirisan, Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province (South Korea), and Hambuk (North Korea) and the plant occurs also in (Greater) Manchuria.^[6][7]

History[]

It is one of those plants of which the Chinese Mandarins in the north of China are so fond and which they cultivate with so much pride in their little fairy gardens.

Robert Fortune
personal communication May 20, 1847
Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society^[8]

The plant was first introduced to England from Asia in the year 1810 and, unfortunately, was lost, but was subsequently reintroduced in 1846 by the Scottish botanist and plant hunter Robert Fortune, who sent specimens to the RHS, having found the plant already in cultivation "in the Grotto Garden on the Island of Chusan, growing among artificial rocks near the beautiful Weigela rosea".^[9][5][10]

Cultivation[]

In a moist and cool climate, it will grow in full sun, but in warmer and drier climates it requires some shade.

Aphids, slugs and snails sometimes feed on the leaves.

Clumps remain compact for many years and do not need dividing. They have brittle roots which are easily damaged when disturbed. Root cuttings should be taken in spring.^[11]

Seeds with whitish elaiosomes are borne in long pods. They must be sown while fresh. Division should be done in the late fall (autumn) or early spring.

Cultivars[]

The following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-^[12]

• Lamprocapnos spectabilis^[13] (pink and white)
• 'Alba'^[14] (white)
• "Valentine" ('Hordival')^[15] (red and white)

'Gold Heart', introduced from Hadspen Garden, England, in 1997,^[10] has yellow leaves.

Use in traditional Chinese medicine[]

A hébāo ("propitious pouch") of the kind referenced by the Chinese and Korean common names for Lamprocapnos - in regard to its purse-shaped flowers (Qing dynasty)

An array of tai (red seabream), whose roughly heart-shaped outline and pinkish colouration are referenced in the popular Japanese common name taitsurisō for Lamprocapnos (flowers)

In China, the plant has the common name of 荷包牡丹 (hébāo mǔdān) meaning "purse peony", in reference to the resemblance of the individual flowers to an (upside down) hébāo ("propitious pouch" - a type of traditional Chinese "good luck" purse) and of the foliage to that of tree peonies (mǔdān/moutan). In Traditional Chinese medicine the root is employed for detoxification, to improve blood circulation, and as an analgesic. It is recorded in the "Lingnan Medicine Collection" (1949) that Lamprocapnos root can disperse blood, eliminate sores, eliminate "wind" (风; fēng), and "harmonize the blood". The medicinal qualities are described as pungent, bitter and warm, and are believed to replenish jing in the liver. Oral administration is used to treat sores and abdominal pain, while topical application is used to treat bruises and swellings.^[16] Caution is, however urged regarding overdose: the juice of the plant can cause tingling paresthesias after contact with exposed skin and oral overdose can give rise to vomiting, diarrhea and, in serious cases of poisoning, even respiratory failure, and cardiac paralysis.^[17]

Related, descriptive Korean and Japanese common names[]

The Korean common name for the plant, 금낭화 (geum nang hwa) "gold bag flower", makes the same comparison between the shape of the flower and that of an old-fashioned drawstring purse as does the Chinese.^[18] Japanese common names for the plant include ケマンソウ (kemansō, derived from the Japanese common name for Corydalis, which is keman) and the quaint and evocative タイツリソウ (taitsurisō i.e. "sea bream fishing rod") given in recognition of the similarity in appearance of the inflorescence to a number of little fish (specifically the much-loved Japanese food fish, tai a.k.a. madai) hanging by their snouts from a rod.^[19] Both the Chinese and Korean purse and the Japanese sea bream referenced in names for Lamprocapnos are not only considered auspicious, but also associated specifically with the New Year celebrations of their respective countries.^[20]

Toxicity[]

Contact with the plant can cause skin irritation in certain individuals, due to its containing isoquinoline alkaloids, including protopine, while consumption of the leaves can give rise to neurological symptoms, including confusion and irritability.^[21][17][22]

Case of accidental poisoning in Korea[]

Young foliage of
L. spectabilis

Korean radishes, showing tufts of foliage which can be confused with that of L. spectabilis

Jeong et al. reported a case of (non-fatal) poisoning in Korea in 2015: a party of four dining out at a local restaurant suffered symptoms of varying severity after consuming a dish of crucian carp and radish greens to which a (possibly) careless or inexperienced chef had added leaves of L. spectabilis, which he may have mistaken for radish leaves, while gathering pot-herbs to cook with the fish.^[22] They note that the severity of poisoning could be correlated with the amount of the poisoned dish consumed; the only individual with symptoms requiring hospitalisation being a middle-aged man, already in poor health, who had eaten the most.^[22] All those poisoned complained of lethargy, dizziness, palpitation, and dry mouth half an hour after consuming the meal.^[22]

The authors conclude that the clinical manifestations in this poisoning case suggest anticholinergic syndrome and speculate that the mental changes in the victims were attributable to the effects on the CNS of the alkaloids scoulerine (which can act as a GABAA receptor agonist) and corydine which can evoke narcotic effects. They note also that the neurologic effects of the alkaloid protopine are qualitatively comparable to those of the well-known delirient tropane alkaloid atropine.^[22]

The A 45-year-old male admitted to A&E suffering from Lamprocapnos poisoning had a history of hypertension and chronic kidney disease and presented with a confused mental state, elevated blood pressure, tachycardia, mild fever, dry mouth and facial flushing. Neurological examination revealed his confusion to be intermittent and associated with irritability, and an inability to comprehend and obey commands. His motor function, however was normal and he showed no abnormal reflexes. Furthermore, his pupils were not anisochoric (i.e. were of the same size) and (as would not be so in a case of atropine poisoning) were responsive to light. The patient’s mental state began to return to normal 19 hours after admission to A&E, although his intermittent confusion persisted. He finally regained alert (normal) mentation 28 hours after admission.^[22]

Suspect Korean wild vegetable[]

In regard to the poisoning case described above, the chef involved may have been neither careless nor inexperienced, but simply preparing a traditional namul, since at least one work on the edible wild plants of Korea maintains Lamprocapnos spectabilis to be edible, provided that it has first been subjected to certain treatments.^[23] Lee stipulates that the young leaves should be blanched slightly and then placed in cold water which is then brought to the boil; after which treatment they may be eaten with other vegetables or used in the preparation of miso soup. He further states that the flowers may be dried in the shade and used as tea.^[23] It is clear that, in the light of the findings of Jeong et. al. regarding the restaurant poisoning incident, the plant is alkaloidal and, at best, a suspect foodstuff requiring pre-treatment in order to render it safe for human consumption (compare preparation of poke sallet from Phytolacca americana). Other factors influencing potential toxicity include variations in alkaloid content depending on the strain of plant involved, the stage of development/time of year at which the leaves were gathered and the pre-existing state of health of the consumer.^[22][23]

Chemistry[]

L. spectabilis has yielded ,by methanol extraction, 0.17% of combined alkaloids from above-ground parts and 0.25% from the roots. The alkaloids present are dihydrosanguinarine, sanguinarine, scoulerine, cheilanthifoline, , and protopine.^[24] a Korean source lists also cryptopine, coptisine, chelerythrine, , and reticuline.^[6]

Gallery[]

• 

  Foliage and buds

• 

  Cultivar 'Goldheart'

• 

  Cultivar 'Alba'

• 

  Close-up of inflorescence of pink form

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Lamprocapnos at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Lamprocapnos at Wikispecies