Bloodroot

Botanical Name: Sanguinaria

Description: Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia, Canada southward to Florida, United States, and west to Great Lakes and down the Mississippi embayment. It is the only species in the genus Sanguinaria, included in the family Papaveraceae, and most closely related to Eomecon of eastern Asia.

Height: 10 inches

Habit: Rich woods; usually on banks or slopes

Foliage: This plant has basal leaves only. Leaves can be as wide as 20 cm (8inches). There is usually only one leaf which has five to nine lobes. It is much smaller at the time the flower is open.

Flowers: The flowers have numerous parts and are up to 5cm wide (2 inches). They are white with yellow center. Blooms first appear in late winter and continue into early spring. The flower usually has eight symmetrically arranged petals four large and four smaller, but can have up to twelve and sometimes sixteen.