FUMITORY FAMILY FUMARIACEAE 
SQUIRREL CORN 
Dicentra canadensis (Goldie) Walp. 
The Squirrel Corn is found in rich woods from Nova Scotia 
to Ontario and Minnesota, southward to Missouri, and along 
the mountains to Kentucky and Virginia, but it is rare in Illinois. 
Since it greatly resembles 
the Dutchman’s Breeches, 
page 121, perhaps it will be 
sufficient to note the differ- 
ences. 
Leaves and stem arise 
6-12 inches high in this 
species, and also from 
tubers, but these, instead 
of being clustered into a 
bulbous structure as in the 
Dutchman’s Breeches are 
scattered on underground 
stems and are produced so 
near the surface of the soil 
that they frequently be- 
come uncovered and lie on 
top of the ground. These 
yellowish tubers look some- 
wz thing like grains of Corn 
and are said to be relished 
by squirrels, hence the 
| common name. Leaves are 
a the same except that in this 
species they are decidedly paler beneath witha fine whitish bloom. 
The Squirrel Corn blooms a week or so later than the Dutch- 
man’s Breeches, during April and May. The nodding, short- 
pediceled flowers, 4-8 in a raceme topping the slender scape, 
are greenish white frequently tinged with rose and are slightly 
fragrant with the odor of Hyacinth. They are shaped very 
much like our garden Bleeding Heart, a native of Japan but 
very closely related. The crests or tips of the inner petals of 
Squirrel Corn are much larger and more conspicuous than those 
of the Dutchman’s Breeches. Fruits of the two species are 
similar. 
122 
