Incised Fumewort
Corydalis incisa
Click or tap the section titles below to learn more about this species!
CLASSIFICATION: What’s in a name?
Scientific Name: The genus Corydalis is derived from the Greek word korydallis, meaning “crested lark”, referring to the similarity of the flower’s spurs to those on the feet of larks.4 The epithet is derived from the Latin incisus, meaning deeply cut.
Common Name: Incised fumewort for the deeply cut, or incised foliage.
Family: Fumariaceae (Fumewort family). This is a large family of herbaceous plants, both annual and perennial. They typically have compound leaves with many divisions, and bilaterally symmetric flowers with four petals. The two outer petals are inflated or elongated into either a long spur or an inflated sac, and the inner two narrow and broadened at the tip.1
IDENTIFICATION: What does it look like?
Average Height: 3-24 inches
Description: An annual spring ephemeral herb with finely dissected, gray-green foliage, and upright stems bearing small, long-spurred flowers which are typically pink with a purple blotch on the tip, but can occasionally be white. These are followed by slender, drooping seed capsules which burst readily at the touch.
Bloom time: Mar – Apr
Notes: This species is planted in gardens as an ornamental, and has recently become very invasive in rich slope forests and floodplains in central Virginia. Take care when weeding or walking through it, as the seed capsules are very explosive, and it is easy to inadvertently spread the plant to new areas! Though the foliage is similar to the native C. flavula, incised fumewort is a larger plant with more upright stems, and pink or white flowers (vs. yellow). Another native Fumariaceae species with pink flowers, pink corydalis or rock harlequin (Capnoides sempervirens), is sometimes placed in the genus Corydalis and may be confused with this plant, but can be easily distinguished by its smaller flowers with a yellow tip. That species can be found infrequently in dry rocky woodlands and outcrops in the mountains and western Piedmont.
LOCATION: Where is it at home?
Range: Found in several counties in the James River watershed of central Virginia, from Rockbridge County east to Richmond, as well as in Fairfax County. There are likely additional populations elsewhere waiting to be discovered. It has also been found in Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, and New York.1,6,10 Native to E. Asia.
Geology/Soil: Typically found in sandy or loamy soils rich in nutrients, including high levels of calcium, magnesium, and potassium.11
Habitat: Rich slope forests and floodplain forests, also in gardens and disturbed habitats.11
CONNECTIONS: What are its relationships to other plants, animals, and humans?
Flora associations: This species can be found at Riverview Park growing with many other non-native, invasive species of rich forests such as common chickweed (Stellaria media), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), ground-ivy (Glechoma hederacea), rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis), and native vegetation such as poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), spring beauty (Claytonia virginica var. virginica), Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), and yellow fumewort (Corydalis flavula). This species is very invasive in these rich, loamy alluvial soils, and readily crowds out native flora.
Fauna associations: The seeds have an attached nutrient-packed ‘elaiosome’–a tasty snack pack evolved to attract ants. These treats are especially attractive to winnow ants (genus Aphaenogaster), some of the most common ants in eastern deciduous forests. While winnow ants collect Corydalis seeds in order to eat the elaiosomes, the ants generally don’t remove them from the seeds until they reach their nest. Once there they commonly discard the elaiosome-stripped seeds in a ‘midden’, the ant colony’s nutrient-rich waste pile, and a perfect place for seed germination.2,3 This strategy of using ants for seed dispersal (formally known as myrmecochory) is common among many other spring ephemerals in our area, including spring beauty (Claytonia virginica var. virginica), bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), perfoliate bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata), and several species of violets (Viola spp.), among others.2
Human associations: Several medicinal uses for species in this genus are reported in traditional Chinese medicine.8
We want these plants to thrive and for everyone who gets to visit the park to enjoy them, so remember – don’t pick flowers or other parts of the plant!!
Bibliography & Definitions
1 Weakley, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Bland Crowder, ed. Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project, Inc., Richmond. Fort Worth: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press, , pp. 1155-1157.
2 Clark, R. 2022. Are seed-dispersing ants elaiosome-limited? An experimental test in a Connecticut forest dominated by myrmecochorous plants. Food Webs 32 (2022)
3 In Defense of Plants. Episode 166 – Ants as Seed Dispersers a.k.a. The Myrmecochory Episode! June 24, 2018.
4 “Corydalis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corydalis. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
5 “2013 BONAP North American Plant Atlas. TaxonMaps.” Bonap.net, bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/County/Corydalis. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
6 Council, Maryland Invasive Species. “An Incisive Invader – Maryland Invasive Species Council.” Maryland Invasive Species Council, 1 May 2017, mdinvasives.org/iotm/may-2017/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
7 Nuzzo, Victoria A. “Demography and Habitat of Corydalis Flavula (Raf.) DC. (Fumariaceae) in South-Western Michigan (U. S. A.).” The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, vol. 132, no. 1, 2005, pp. 16–23, www.jstor.org/stable/20063741. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
8 Qin, Feng, et al. “Corydalis Saxicola Bunting: A Review of Its Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Clinical Applications.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 24, no. 2, 13 Jan. 2023, pp. 1626–1626, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9864617/, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24021626. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
9 “Slender Corydalis (Corydalis Micrantha Micrantha).” Www.illinoiswildflowers.info, www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/sl_corydalis.htm. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
10 Tangren, Sara, and Yvonne Ng. “Incised Fumewort (Corydalis Incisa) (U.S. National Park Service).” Www.nps.gov, www.nps.gov/articles/000/incised-fumewort-corydalis-incisa.htm. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
11 Virginia Botanical Associates. “Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Corydalis Incisa (Thunb.) Pers.” Www.vaplantatlas.org, www.vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=4568&search=Search. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
Definitions:
Spring ephemeral: A perennial plant which grows early in the spring – before the trees grow leaves – to take advantage of the sunlight reaching the forest floor. In less than 2 months, the plant grows, blooms, and produces seed and then disappears from view as the leaves die back.
Myrmecochory: The formal term used for the dispersal of seeds by ants.