Squirrel Corn
Dicentra canadensis
Found in rich, moist forests, especially rich cove forests in the mountains. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 3–5 inches
- Spread
- 8–12 inches
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Deep shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
Space about 1 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 100 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to May
- Fruiting season
- June
Recorded in 13 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Sheltered, moist mountain hollows and lower slopes with deep, fertile soil.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 112 animals.
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Worm-eating WarblerHelmitheros vermivorum
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Canada WarblerWilsonia canadensis
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
- Kentucky WarblerOporornis formosus
Who uses this plant?
4BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Dicentra
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Fumariaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–7b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Pink or white
- Fruit begins
- June
- Fruit ends
- June
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–7b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “3–5 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Minnesota Wildflowers differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Deep shade (less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards differs)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “8–12 inches” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- West Virginia occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























