Though this plant is common here, it should still be harvested carefully so that we always have them in our forests. The foliage is best collected after the seedpods are matured and can be sown to help spread the plant. The roots of this plant are generally gathered in summer and fall, up to the time when the leaves start to turn. Internally a tincture of bleeding heart can also help calm frazzled nerves, especially after a frightening experience such as an accident or other trauma. You can make a root tincture or a hot compress to help with pain relief, and it can be applied externally to bruises and sprains. Bleeding Heart, Vancouver Island, BC, Photo By Bud LoganĪs with so many plants on the BC coast, this species also has medicinal value. The discarded seeds germinate where they fall. The ants pick them up and carry them back to their nests where they consume the white part of attached to the seed, they then dispose of the rest on their refuse piles. The white parts are oily, and the ants get a vast amount of nutrients and vitamins from this. These white parts on the seeds attract ants. The seeds it produces have small white appendages on them. The Bleeding Heart plant has a symbiotic relationship with ants in the island’s forests. After pollination, the flowers produce long, pea-like seed pods. Bleeding hearts grow from a fragile rhizome that grows very near the surface of the soil. The leaves often make a green covering of growth over the forest floor. The dainty much divided, and fern-like leaves grow straight out of the ground on long and thin stalks. This beautiful plant has small, heart-shaped flowers growing in small groups on top of a long and thin stalk. Its heart-shaped flowers give it its name. It is also known as the Western bleeding heart. It is a delicate, pretty, and short plant. Pacific bleeding heart plants are found all over the BC coast as well as all of BC’s coniferous forests. Bleeding Heart, Vancouver Island, BC, Photo By Bud Logan
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