Dutchman's Breeches
Growth Habit
HerbaceousPropagation
Seed Treatment and Storage: warm/moist then cold/moist stratification
Biocultural Value
Haudenosaunee runners made a compound infusion of the leaves and used it as a liniment to strengthen their limbs. It has even been reported that young men would chew the roots to attract women.
Poisonous
Like its relative squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis), all parts of dutchman’s breeches are poisonous to cats, cattle, and humans because it synthesizes the neurotoxic alkaloid isoquinoline. The underground tubers have been found to cause convulsions in cattle.
Wildlife Value
Queen bumble bees pry open the complex flowers and feed on the nectar with long tongues, picking up and transferring pollen along the way. Dutchman's breeches can self pollinate if queen bumble bees are absent. Worker bees and cuckoo bees (Nomada spp.) bypass the flower opening and feed on nectar through perforations in the spurs. Dutchman's breeches seeds are ant-dispersed. Herbivores avoid the toxic foliage.
