Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)
The loop that Jo and I (and the dogs) usually walk every afternoon is only a couple of miles long, but contains a variety of habitats. There are hard-scrabble hillsides, pastures and one small area that I'd call a "rich woodland". On Friday, our treat for the day was finding bloodroot in bloom in this rich woodland area. I took numerous photos. These are not those photos. Jo's shots were much better than mine so I appropriated hers.
(Mon@rch has an excellent series of bloodroot photos showing the entire plant in various stages of bloom. Be sure to have a look at those.)
The loop that Jo and I (and the dogs) usually walk every afternoon is only a couple of miles long, but contains a variety of habitats. There are hard-scrabble hillsides, pastures and one small area that I'd call a "rich woodland". On Friday, our treat for the day was finding bloodroot in bloom in this rich woodland area. I took numerous photos. These are not those photos. Jo's shots were much better than mine so I appropriated hers.
(Mon@rch has an excellent series of bloodroot photos showing the entire plant in various stages of bloom. Be sure to have a look at those.)
Bloodroot is a member of the Poppy family. Its name is derived from the red juice that can be extracted from it's red-orange roots (actually rhizomes). Various medicinal and mystical properties have been associated with this juice in the past. However, since the juice is escharotic (a substance that causes tissue to die and slough off) and an incorrect internal dosage is toxic, the FDA recommends that bloodroot not be used by herbal healers.
6 comments:
Gorgeous shots of the Bloodroot. I have one plant that I planted in my garden last spring. I hope it lived. I haven't seen any signs of it as yet. Kudos to Jo for her pictures.
Marvin, thanks for the link and I just LOVE your bloodroot flowers! They are my all time favorite flower! Too bad they are only around for a short period!
Beautiful photos. Happy Easter!
My Jane will be most interested in this post as well.. I can see me losing the P.C. for a while now.. ha!
The flowers are a great sight as well.
"Jo's shots were much better than mine so I appropriated hers."
-giggles- Me'thinks Jo is going to have to have her own blog. :-)))))
Dear Marvin and Jo,
Thanks for the bloodroot photos. I am looking forward to a walk in the woods soon to see wildflowers. Maybe this afternoon I can break away.
Sherry
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