Illustration by Karl Urban. To see more of Karl's coloring book drawings, visit the National Park Service's Northwest Wildflower Drawings Coloring Book website.
Story by Cynthia Houng
Sierra hikers with a sharp eye for detail may have noticed strange, skull-shaped pink blossoms dotting the subalpine forest floor.
These flowers belong to the longhorn steer's head (Dicentra uniflora), a close relative to the familiar bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa), a common garden plant.
Only an inch or so in height, the Longhorn Steer's Head is a jewel-like plant with lacy green leaves and delicate, almost dusty rose blooms. It is an early season bloomer, and like the snow plant, is often found near patches of retreating snow.
In May, while hiking in Sonora Pass, I came across dozens of Dicentra uniflora plants. At around 9000 ft., the snow was just beginning to melt, and small fern-like plants were just beginning to emerge on the forest floor. Tiny pink flowers hovered an inch or two above the litter, almost invisible.
It grows in well-drained subalpine soils from California north to British Columbia, and is only found west of the Rockies. The plant forms tiny capsule-shaped fruits, and can be grown from seed, but is difficult to cultivate.
The flowers really do resemble little longhorn skulls, with two distinctive "horns" and a little snub nose. With those two open eye sockets and that smooth, bone-like texture, the Longhorn Steer's head could easily double as Day of the Dead decorations.
These fairy-tale flowers have a short bloom period. As spring deepens into summer, the flowers fade, and the delicate plants disappear from view, hidden by other, taller woodland flowers. Next spring, keep one eye on the forest floor. You might discover a small reward.
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Comments (2)
i used to live in logan canyon utah and one day while hiking with my little plant identifier book i discovered a long horn steer's head =
a dicentra uniforma (pink flowers)- i have read that it is caterogised in the fabraricae(sp?) family and yet in these california listings it is listed in another family - the name of which i have forgotten - why is it listed in 2 different families?
also i have been researching "forever" to find a source for buying this plant as i know it is very difficult to grow from seed - would you know of a source for buying this plant? as a friend in northern utah has created a totally utah native grass and wildflower yard and so wants to include this plant -
ty for your attention
lynette roberts
Posted by lynette roberts | January 2, 2009 8:55 AM
Posted on January 2, 2009 08:55
Hello Lynette,
You might find this entry from the Jepson Manual helpful: http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Dicentra+uniflora
Dicentra uniflora was once placed in the Fabraricae family, but botanists have moved the plant to the Poppy family. Botanical classification is an uncertain science, and as new scientific tools become available (genetics have really changed the field), botanists often change the familial relationships between various plants. I would guess that someone took a second look at the longhorn steer's head plant and decided to move it based on new scientific evidence.
I have not seen any commercial sources for this plant. I would advise your friend to contact the local native plants society and see if there is a good local source for it. With native plants, it is always best to grow the local variety, as it is more adapted to local conditions. And do make sure that the plant wasn't collected from the wild. The native plant society may have suggestions for a good substitute.
Hope this helps,
cynthia
Posted by Cynthia
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January 5, 2009 10:31 AM
Posted on January 5, 2009 10:31