Lamprocapnos

Lamprocapnos spectabilis, commonly known as bleeding heart or Asian bleeding heart, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the fumitory subfamily (Fumarioideae) of the Papaveraceae (poppy family). It is native to Northeast China and the Korean peninsula; however, it has been introduced by humans into a larger area of Northeast Asia, including parts of Siberia, Russia and Japan. It is valued in flower gardens for the heart-shaped pink and white flowers it produces in spring.

Etymology

The scientific name, Lamprocapnos spectabilis, can be broken up and translated: The Greek term "Lampro-" translates to words such as "bright", "shining", "sparkling", "dazzling", "brilliant", or "glistening", while the Greek term "-capnos" translates to "smoke". The Greek term "spectabilis" translates to words such as "spectacular", "showy", "remarkable", or "worth seeing". The literal translation means "Spectacular sparkling smoke".

Common names

Other common names include lyre flower, heart flower, and lady-in-a-bath.

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).

The Korean common name for the plant, 금낭화 (geum nang hwa) or "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.

Japanese common names for the plant include (, derived from the Japanese common name for Corydalis, which is ) and ( or "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, also known as ) hanging by their tails from a rod, while clasping yet smaller fish in their jaws.

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.

Description

thumb|upright|right|Flower buds

thumb|upright|right|Single, mature flower showing reflexed appendages of outer, pink petals revealing inner, white teardrop

thumb|upright|right|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 pious "[[Mary, mother of Jesus|Our Lady in a boat".]]The Asian bleeding-heart grows to tall and 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.

Distribution

Lamprocapnos spectabilis is native to Northeast Asia, specifically Northeast China (provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang) and the Korean peninsula;</blockquote>

The plant was first introduced to England from Asia in the year 1810 and 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".

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 cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:

Lamprocapnos spectabilis (pink and white flowered)
'Alba' (all white flowered)
"Valentine" ('Hordival') (red and white flowered)

The cultivar 'Gold Heart', introduced from Hadspen Garden, England, in 1997, has yellow leaves.

In Chinese culture and traditional medicine

玲珑奇巧涎欲滴，Delicate and quaint, with pendent drop of yearning unashamed

色彩绚丽若紫云；Bright as rosy clouds of eventide.

传言古时洛阳镇，Tis said that, long ago, near ancient Luoyang town,

镇上玉女慧且纯；There dwelt a jade-bright maiden, wise and pure,

无奈情郎充军去，Whose secret love was called away to war,

只得寄情绣包存；Each month a wondrous purse embroidered she to hang upon the bough,

荷包香美已成串，Drawstring pulled tight upon sweet fragrance pent within.

可惜思君不见君。Pity the girl who pictured daily thus her pining heart.

王文英 (Wáng Wényīng)

Poems of a Hundred Flowers: number 70 - Purse Peony

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thumb|upright|right|An array of [[Red seabream|tai (red seabream), whose roughly heart-shaped outline and pinkish colouration are referenced in the popular Japanese common name for Lamprocapnos (flowers)]]

Jade Maiden Si Jun and the "Purse Peony"

The short poem by modern Chinese poet Wáng Wényīng presented above alludes to a traditional tale concerning the etiology of the "purse peony". The goddess/fairy name Yunü employed in line four refers specifically to 玉女思君 (Yùnǚ sī jūn) Jade Maiden Si Jun, a literary inflection of a character originally a minor deity, although the name Yunü here designates, in a familiar trope, a virtuous and faithful young woman. The name 思君 (sī jūn) translates as "thinks-of-her-lord", reflecting the behaviour of the young woman in the legend.

The legend of Si Jun relates that in ancient times, some 200 miles to the southeast of Luoyang City in the province of Henan, there was a prefecture called Rǔzhōu, in the West of which lay Miaoxia, a small town nestled in a paradisal valley hemmed in by mountains. Here there lived Si Jun, a girl so beautiful, virtuous and wise that she was besieged by legions of eager suitors, whom she nonetheless rebuffed, because she had a secret love. This handsome young man had enlisted as a soldier and had been encamped far away beyond Wànlǐ Chángchéng (the "Ten-Thousand Mile Long Wall") for two years, forbidden to communicate with his beloved. Despite the fact that he could not reply to the letters that she sent him or receive her gifts, she waited patiently for his return, easing her yearning for him by embroidering once a month a purse dedicated to him and hanging it upon a branch of the tree peony that grew outside her window. Such was her talent for embroidery that the beautiful flowers that she created so skilfully with her needle fooled the very butterflies and bees, who would try to pollinate them, believing them to be real. This state of affairs continued for so long that the peony bush, though not actually in flower, appeared to have burst forth in strange, purse-shaped blooms, so many were the little embroidered pouches that Si Jun had created in honour of her absent lover. At last the immortals rewarded her patience by transmuting the purse-decked peony into a new kind of plant with foliage like that of a peony but with curious little flowers shaped like lucky, bridal purses - the hébāo mǔdān (purse peony). To this very day a gift of purse peonies is considered in China the quintessential love token or proposal of marriage in the language of flowers, with much the same connotations as the red rose in Europe.

Traditional Chinese medicine

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.

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.

Case of accidental poisoning in Korea

thumb|upright|right|Young foliage of L. spectabilis

thumb|upright|right|[[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 Korean 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. 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. a Korean source lists also cryptopine, coptisine, chelerythrine, chelirubine, chelilutine and reticuline.

Biotechnology

The biotechnology of Lamprocapnos spectabilis encompasses various advanced techniques to enhance its cultivation and preservation. Micropropagation allows for the rapid multiplication of plants under sterile conditions, ensuring the production of disease-free and genetically uniform specimens. Mutation breeding involves exposing plant tissues to mutagens to create genetic variations that can lead to desirable traits such as improved growth habits. Cryopreservation is employed to conserve genetic resources by freezing plant tissues at ultra-low temperatures, maintaining their viability for future use. Additionally, the application of nanoparticles in Lamprocapnos biotechnology has shown potential in improving plant growth.

Gallery

File:Lamprocapnos spectabilis 001.JPG|Foliage and buds

File:GoldenDicentra.jpg|Cultivar 'Goldheart'

File:Bleeding heart.jpg|Cultivar 'Alba'

File:Lamprocapnos.jpg|Close-up of inflorescence of pink form

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