Pale Corydalis, Pink Corydalis, Rock Harlequin, Corydalis sempervirens,Native Minnesota Wildflower plant, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

	Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Prime Season
	Pale Corydalis	Corydalis sempervirens (L.) Pers.	Poppy	Historical Garden Plant - not extant	Spring
Other names and notes	(Rock Harlequin, Pink Corydalis) Short-lived, pinkish to mauve-pink tubular two-lipped flowers with a yellowish tip and a long spur, growing on racemes raising just above the leaves, blooming in May. The stems branch profusely on the plant which can be from 1 to 3 feet high. Leaves are pale green, pinnately divided with the lower leaves stalked. Seed pods are long and slender containing small brown seeds.



Above: The pinkish flowers of Pale Corydalis. Photos ©University of Wisconsin, Steven's Point. Keir Morse, top; Derck Anderson, bottom.

Notes: The species is no longer extant in the Garden. Eloise Butler's records show that she planted seeds of this species on Oct. 9, 1909, Oct. 14, 1926, on April 12, 1932 and then again on Oct. 7, 1932 from seed that was collected on a trip to Isle Royal in August 1932. The Isle Royal connection is via Gertrude Cram, who visited Isle Royal each August, staying at the Rock Harbor Lodge. She was a "botanical friend" of Eloise Butler (and later of Martha Crone) and she would collect plants and seeds and send them back to Eloise. Eloise would plant many specimens in 1932 from Isle Royal. At the time, plant collecting on Isle Royal was allowed. Eloise put in plants obtained from east coast nurseries in 1909 (Sept 4th, from Stony Brook, MA). All references used the older name C. Glauca. Martha Crone planted 35 specimens in 1934 and 1935 (she used the older name C. glauca). Martha Crone's 1951 Garden census still listed the plant as extant. This plant is native to Minnesota in counties of the NE Quadrant, but not the Metro area. It is native to most of the eastern United States and all of Canada.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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