Status and phenology
Threats
''Corydalis flavula'' (yellow fumewort) can be found throughout most of the eastern half of the US and also parts of Canada. It is a pioneer species that requires disturbance to thrive.Michigan
''Corydalis flavula'' is a state threatened plant in Michigan. It occurs in floodplains under relatively open forest canopy. It is at the north end of its range in the US in Michigan, helping to explain why it is threatened in Michigan and only one other state (Connecticut) in its range. Current focused research on the plant at one of its strongholds shows that it can adapt to some other habitats that mimic the disturbance and canopy cover of a floodplain forest. Given that the plant is in the north end of its range, and the climate change impacts will increase temperatures and flooding due to more intense and frequent rain events in Michigan in the next 50 years, the plant has a good chance of flourishing under these conditions. The National Climate Assessment predicts higher temperatures in all seasons in Michigan (summer differences from current will be larger than winter differences). It also predicts that rain events will be increasingly concentrated in the spring and fall seasons and in fewer, heavier bursts (1-3 inches average), which will increase flooding in all categories of streams. At Ft. Custer Training Center (FCTC) in southwest Michigan, ''C. flavula'' was found when an armory was being constructed in 1995. This led to Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to seek a permit from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for the take of the plant during the construction of the building. The permit required ten years of monitoring along a transect in a black locust dominated area near the armory construction. At the end of the ten years it was determined that further surveys needed to be conducted elsewhere on the installation, not only because it was apparent the plant occurred elsewhere on the 7,500 acre property, but also because there was the threat of more take due to new construction in 2012. The embedded map shows the potential habitat considered viable in the 2010 consideration of where to survey to manage the construction threat in 2012. These surveys of the property found ''C. flavula'' in extensive areas elsewhere on the installation, some areas having healthy populations across 10s of acres.Historical uses
''Corydalis flavula'' belongs to the Ranunculales order, an order of plants that often contains many alkaloids that make plants distasteful to toxic. Early use by Native Americans involved inhalation of the smoke of a charring plant. Because early American medicine gleaned some of the aboriginal understandings of the power of plant alkaloids like heroin for pain and belladonna for hearing issues, it was used for things like staunching a bleeding wound, and as an anti emetic. Chinese medicine uses plants in this genus as a pain reliever, muscle relaxant, and to slow the gastrointestinal system.References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1135813 flavula Flora of the Eastern United States