Scrambled Eggs

The Navaho used Corydalis aurea medicinally for a variety of ailments, including rheumatism, diarrhea, sores on the hands, stomachaches, menstrual problems, and sore throats, and as a general disinfectant (D. E. Moerman 1986, no subspecies cited).

Plants winter annual or biennial, glaucous, from ± branched caudices. Stems 10-50, prostrate-ascending, 2-3.5 dm. Leaves compound; blade with 3 orders of leaflets and lobes; ultimate lobes elliptic, 1.5 times or more longer than wide, margins incised, apex subapiculate. Inflorescences racemose, 10-20(-30)-flowered, primary racemes shorter than to slightly exceeding leaves, secondary racemes fewer flowered; bracts elliptic to linear, 4-10 × 1-2 mm, rarely larger, margins often denticulate toward apex, distal bracts usually much reduced. Flowers at first erect, later reflexed; pedicel 5-10 mm; sepals ovate to attenuate-ovate, to 1-3 mm, margins often sinuate or dentate; petals pale to bright yellow; spurred petal 13-16 mm, spur straight or slightly incurved, 4-5 mm, apex subglobose, crest low and incised or absent, marginal wing moderately to well developed, unspurred outer petal 9-11 mm, crest same as that of spurred petal; inner petals oblanceolate, 8-10 mm, blade wider than claw and more prominently winged toward apex, claw 3.5-4.5 mm; nectariferous spur 2-3 mm; style ca. 3 mm; stigma 2-lobed, 1/2 as long as wide, with 8 papillae. Capsules erect to pendent at maturity, linear, often torulose, slender to somewhat stout, straight to moderately incurved, 12-24(-30) mm. Seeds nearly 2 mm diam., appearing essentially smooth under magnification, narrow marginal ring present or absent.

Capnodes aureum (Willdenow) Kuntze

Scrambled eggs is classified as threatened in New York. Its
state rank there is listed as S1 (critically imperiled in New York State
because of extreme rarity or is extremely vulnerable to extirpation from
the New York State due to biological factors [29].

Scrambled eggs is distributed from Quebec west to Alaska and south
(from east of the Cascade Mountains) to California [14,16,20,28]. In the
central United States it is found to Texas and Missouri. Golden
corydalis also occurs through the New England states to West Virginia
[9,11,12]. Corydalis aurea ssp. occidentalis has more western and
southern distribution than C. aurea spp. aurea [14,11,12].

More info for the term: forb

Forb

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Depending on latitude, scrambled eggs generally flowers from May to
June or July [9,11,12,14,20]. In Arizona, however, it blooms from
February to June [16].

Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

The currently accepted scientific name of scrambled eggs is Corydalis
aurea Willd. [9,11,20]. The following subspecies are recognized
[12,16,27]:

Corydalis aurea subsp. aurea --racemes generally surpassed by leaves
Corydalis aurea subsp. occidentalis (Engelm.) Ownbey --racemes generally
surpassing leaves

Some authors, however, make this distinction at the varietal level [9,11].

Corydalis aurea (scrambled eggs, golden smoke, golden corydalis) is a flowering plant in the poppy family (Papaveraceae), native to North America. A winter annual, it can be found in such areas as the sagebrush steppe.

The root is a branching caudex. Stems are decumbent, to 40 cm long, with blue-green leaves divided into leaflets with oval or diamond lobes.

The flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, yellow, 1 cm long, with a pouch-like spur at the bottom of the petals, borne in racemes of up to 30 flowers, each on a short stem. The flowers have four petals and six stamens.

The fruits are cylindrical capsules.