8 (see below) Possible synonyms:[2] Dicentra (Greek dís "twice", kéntron "spur"),[3] known collectively as the bleeding-hearts, is a genus containing eight species of herbaceous flowering perennial plants with unique, "heart"-shaped flowers and finely divided foliage.

The species are, primarily, native to North America, although several are found in temperate East Asia.

In other genera with bisymmetric heart-shaped flowers (Lamprocapnos, Dactylicapnos, Ichtyoselmis, Ehrendorferia), leaves grow on stems as well as from the root.

Native to Northeastern Asia, the Pacific Northwest, as well as parts of the eastern United States, Dicentra almost universally prefer growing in cool, temperate, wet forests with excellent drainage, often growing side-by-side with ferns, Hosta, mosses, and other shade- or dappled-light-loving species, depending on location and region.

The genus Dicentra includes plants whose flowers and leaves grow on stems directly from the roots.