Blood Root (Sanguinaria canadensis)
Sanguinaria canadensis or bloodroot is a myrmecochoric plant, meaning that it needs ants to spread the seeds. Native ants bustle about, picking up the seeds and hurrying away to delicately eat the lipid coating. Then, they leave the seed in the right place for it to sprout and grow. Non-native fire ants, however, carelessly munch and crunch the coating, chomping away on it like junk food, which damages the seed. Then as if that weren’t enough, they leave it in the wrong place. It’s like littering!
Even the color is kind of similar to Doritos; the inside that is. When you cut any part of the plant or particularly the root, it bleeds a reddish-orange goo. Fortunately, the flower is lovely, resembling an anemone. Low growing, it blooms before the leaves come out and has white petals that surround yellow stamens. The grayish green leaves are deeply lobed and die back in late summer. It likes to grow in rich, wooded slopes and moist, shady valleys. Each bloom lasts only a day, so you need a clump of them.
Bloodroot can be used in many ways. The Native Americans used it as a dye and to treat various ailments. A compound extracted from the root is used in Europe as an antibiotic and antiparasitic livestock food additive, instead of now banned chemicals. Use in humans is controversial and has to be carefully considered. So, just enjoy the flowers in your spring, woodland garden.
