Bleeding Heart is part of the California Poppy family. It is also called  Pacific Bleeding Heart and Western Bleeding Heart. There are variations of this found all over the country. There is the Traditional Bleeding Heart, Golden Bleeding Heart, Dutchmans Britches, Fringed Bleeding Heart, and Fern Bleeding Heart and many other varieties.  My research could not substantiate the medicinal uses for anything but  Dicentra Formosa and Dicentra Spectabilis. So that is what I will be talking about. These can be found for purchase online if you want to try your hand. 

Great  care should be used when using Dicentra Formosa. It is a very potent narcotic and can be toxic in large doses. It should be used sparingly and may cause false positive for opiates on a drug screen. Considering that it is part of the Poppy family it actually makes sense. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use Bleeding Heart. Do not use if you have Liver Disease or in combination with other sedatives.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Usually the roots are used but the leaves and flowers have medicinal properties as well. It is a beautiful pollinator and is drought tolerant. You may lose flowers in the heat of the summer but they will return when it cools off.  They grow well 1-3 feet high with shallow rhizomes that may spread that wide. They grow well in partial or full shade and the right kind is a great ground cover. They  will return every year but most sites will tell you to keep away from people and pets as it is toxic.  Native Americans used it for treating shock and trauma. 

 

When treating cancer it works well for swollen lymph nodes, and enlarged glands. It also increases the metabolism and stimulates appetite. Great for recovery from Chemotherapy. According to the NIH a study done between October 2011 and February 2013 , 6 patients with malignant mesothelioma and  2 with pancreatic adenocarcinoma were given a synthetic replacement of bleeding heart and showed significant reduction of tumors and increased cell death of cancer cells. 

It  is also a great pain reliever associated with cancer but should be used sparingly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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