fumitory, common name for some members of the Fumariaceae, a family of herbs native to much of the Old World, especially temperate Eurasia. The family is closely related to (and sometimes classified with) the poppies. The early spring wildflowers Dutchman's-breeches and squirrel corn, of the NE United States, are of the same genus (Dicentra) as is the bleeding heart, a native of Japan naturalized and cultivated in the United States as a garden perennial. Fumitory is a predominantly Mediterranean genus (Fumaria) that was once used medicinally. The climbing fumitory, or Allegheny vine, is a North American plant of another genus (Adlumia). Several genera of the family are native to S Africa. Fumitory is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Papaverales, family Fumariaceae.
