Blood Root |
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The name isn't so pretty but the flower is.. |
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Blood Root Dutchman's Breeches Trillum Wild Ginger |
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"Bloodroot rises from the cold earth as soon as it can. It is singular how little warmth is necessary to encourage these ... flowers to put forth," wrote naturalist John Burroughs in 1871. "It would seem as if some influence must come on in advance underground and get things ready, so that, when the outside temperature is propitious, they at once venture out. I have found the bloodroot when it was still freezing two or three nights a week..."
The namesake "blood" is the plant’s orange-red juice, which can be seen in the reddish stem and on your fingers if you pick one. One freak bloodroot plant, found in the Midwestern United States, would produce a variety whose flowers are more durable."Peony flowers" or double bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis multiplex or florepleno), have all descended from that one plant. The flower buds are faintly tinged with lavender, but open up into immaculate white flowers, which have eight to twelve petals. One rolled-up leaf sheaths each stem. Bloodroot's roots and stems contain a toxic orange juice, which was used by Native Americans as face paint and as a dye for baskets and clothing. Bloodroot has also been used medicinally and as an insect repellent. Sanguinaria canadensis Poppy Family (Papaveraceae) | ||
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More information:
Bloodroot Site 1 Bloodroot Site 2 |
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© 2002 Helen
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