SCOULER’S CORYDALIS Corydalis scouleri

Scouler’s corydalis is in the Fumariaceae (fumitory or bleeding-heart) family. It is one of five Corydalis species indigenous to Canada, four of which occur in British Columbia. There are no recognized infraspecific taxa. Description Scouler’s corydalis is a tall (0.6–1.2 m) perennial herb with thick rhizomes. Stems are upright, hollow, and may be simple or somewhat branched. The large, blue-green, deciduous leaves, usually three in number, arise from near or above the middle of the stem and are much dissected (tri- to quadripinnate). The inflorescence is a terminal or axillary raceme of 15–35 showy, rosy-pink, spurred flowers. Individual flowers are relatively small (~2.5 cm long) and bilaterally symmetrical. The fruits are pod-like capsules (10–15 mm long), containing small (4 mm) shiny black seeds. The plant is summer dormant, and foliage dies back completely after seed set. See Douglas et al. (1999, 2002) for complete description and illustrations and Pojar and MacKinnon (1994) for colour photograph