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Plant of the Week
Bloodroot
Latin: Sanguinaria canadensis
 My favorite flower is a moving target, but this week’s favorite is bloodroot.
This delicate little wild flower is one of the plants that ushers in spring in
late winter and then fades quietly away as the heat of summer arrives.
Bloodroot is aptly named. It has thick rhizomes that are about the size of your
finger. When the root is cut, the stem exudes a red sap that looks just like
blood. In fact, when I was first given a division of the plant, the playful
gardener held up a dirty hand with a stub of root protruding between her fingers
and declared "Oh! I’ve cut off my finger!" I must admit I have stolen her line
for every plant I’ve given away since then.
This early spring plant is distributed in the eastern states from Canada to East
Texas where it grows in moist, open woods. It typically is found in Arkansas on
north slopes where the heat of summer is delayed as long as possible. It appears
as a single stem protruding from the leaf litter with the flower bud encircled
in the rolled leaf like a Mexican chalupa protecting refried beans. The white
flower is about two inches across with from eight to 10 petals.
Numerous yellow stamens crowd the center of the flower. The blooms only last a
few days but when they appear they are like a late spring snow blanketing the
ground.
There is only one leaf per flower. The gray-green leaf grows about six inches
above the ground and is a curious affair with an overall round shape with deep
rounded lobes. The leaves die down after the seeds are dispersed in early
summer.
Bloodroot is a member of the poppy family and is listed as a poisonous plant,
even though no reports of human or animal poisoning have been reported in the
United States. The toxic principle is an acrid alkaloid called sanguinarine An
extract from the roots was used in various herbal remedies in bygone days and
was even tested as an anti-cancer drug. The American Indians called the plant
red puccoon and used the juice from the roots for war paint.
No woodland garden is complete without a bloodroot colony. Site the plants in a
scattered planting where the roots will not be disturbed and pretty much forget
them. They will continue to flower and produce seed every year, increasing the
size of the colony each year. For the real plant collector, a double flowered
form is available which has blooms that look like a miniature waterlily. The
plant seems immune to inset and disease attack if well situated in the shade
garden.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
March 31, 2000
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