Bleedinghearts are perennial herbs that emerge from rhizomes or clusters of tubers.  Their twice-compound hairless leaves have finely dissected leaflets.  Their terminal inflorescences grow on leafless stalks ranging from 4 to 20 inches in height.  The flowers, characterized by two outer petals with spurs or sac-like extensions, vary in color from white to purple. Fruit is a slender capsule.