Bulblets

 Dicentra cuclaria AKA Dutchman's breeches, Little blue staggers

You can't help but laugh when you see all the cute white pantaloons hanging off this plant!  It is a plant native to Connecticut and New England, a perennial with an early spring bloom.  Both the flowers and the finely compound lacy fernlike leaves are attractive.  It is a perfect native plant for a shaded or semi-shaded spot with rich organic soil. Keep in mind that the leaves and flowers will die back completely after the bloom period so the plant will virtually disappear as the season progresses.  The bulblets in the ground will remain viable and the plant will reappear the following spring. Although the flowers do not have a fragrance, they are attractive to bumblebees.  The flowers are designed so that the bumbles separate the petals with their front legs and gather pollen from the anthers with their center legs. Pollinated flowers eventually produce a long pointed seedpod. The seeds within have sweet eliasome coating prized by ants who bring the seeds to their colony where the coating is consumed.  Ants being the good housekeepers that they are, will discard the seeds to their nutrient rich refuse pile after the coating is consumed.  There the seeds will eventually germinate.  This process, called myrmecochory, is shared by numerous plants.

I do not recommend using this plant for any purpose medicinally as it contains dangerous compounds.  However, Dicentra cuclaria does have a history of medicinal use by Native Americans and early European settlers including use as a cure for Syphilis.  The plant which is now considered to be in the papaveracae family contains isoquinoline alkaloid compounds.  These alkaloid compounds are the source of the plant's other common name Little blue staggers.  This is not a safe plant for livestock to graze on as the compounds contained can cause drunken staggering and even death, hence its other common name.  This is not a safe plant for humans or other animals to consume any part of!