Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Flower up to 1½ in., plant 8-10 in.., Poppy family

Bloodroot is among the earliest spring bloomers and, despite its unattractive name, one of the prettiest. Each flower’s eight to ten petals are separate, and every other one is slightly narrower. The many golden stamens at the center look like a flower within a flower.

The shy blossoms of Bloodroot open in full sun and close at night from March to May. Each scalloped leaf curls protectively around a developing flower bud like a cloak, hugging its stem even after it blooms. The flowers need such protection. Any strong wind or heavy shower rips them off their stems.

How did such a dainty plant get such a name? Its underground roots and stems have a bitter red juice that Indians used as a dye for baskets, clothing, and war paint. The colonists caught on and used it as a dye for wool, and the French once imported it from America for this use. The juice is said to stain anything it touches. Its genus name, sanguinaria, is Latin for “bleeding.”