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Pseudofumaria lutea

Beaked Corydalis · Yellow Corydalis · Yellow Fumitory · Rock Fumewort

Family PapaveraceaeGenus Pseudofumaria

Short yellow tubular flowers with hooked tips, in upright clusters over blue-green ferny leaves sprawling from a stone wall.
FlowerGhislain118 http://www.fleurs-des-montagnes.netCC BY-SA 3.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
Perennial, Forb/herbPLANTS Database
Flower
YellowRead from the photograph on this page
Native range
Italy, SwitzerlandGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: PLANTS Database — USDA NRCS; Read from the photograph on this page — Deno's Garden; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Worth knowing

  • Yellow corydalis comes from the southern foothills of the Alps in Italy and Switzerland but has been widely introduced elsewhere. It grows wild in cracks in old walls, where drainage is excellent. Wikipedia: Pseudofumaria lutea

This source reports two treatments. Both are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty Moderate Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around December 15, 2026 for a May 3 last frost.

  1. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  3. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

Steps after step 2 run on after germination.

about 3 months from start to step 2. Germination happens during step 2; time not stated, 21 days assumed.

71% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Corydalis p. 125Public domain
Show the original text
Corydalis (Fumaraceae). Seeds of the monocarpic species ( C. lutea germ. 70-40(5/7)-70 and 40-70-40(4/6) using fresh seed. All DS seed rotted and this is a fatal treatment.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Corydalis p. 125. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1993

Difficulty High Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around September 17, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on September 16, 2026.

  1. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

  2. Warm moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  3. Cold moist stratification

    Duration: 90 daysTemperature: 40°F 4°C

about 6 months from start to step 3. Germination happens during step 3; time not stated, 21 days assumed.

67% germination.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. — N. C. Deno, 1993 · Ch. 20, Corydalis p. 125Public domain
Show the original text
Corydalis (Fumaraceae). Seeds of the monocarpic species ( C. lutea germ. 70-40(5/7)-70 and 40-70-40(4/6) using fresh seed. All DS seed rotted and this is a fatal treatment.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 2nd ed., Ch. 20, Corydalis p. 125. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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