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Bloodroot flowers are 1.5-3" across with 8-16 (typically 8) bright white petals, numerous stamens with golden yellow anthers, and an oval, green pistil with a pale yellow, two-lobed stigma at its tip. Two light green sepals are present in the floral bud but they drop off as soon as the flower begins to open. After fertilization, the ovary expands into a spindle-shaped seed capsule about 1" long, yellow when mature, that splits to release the seeds. The seeds are disbursed by ants that are attracted by the white, fleshy appendage (an elaiosome) on the bright red seed. The red sap is highly toxic, both externally and internally — it inhibits the cellular Na+/K+ ATPase enzyme and kills the cells. Avoid getting the sap on your skin and certainly avoid getting it in your eyes or on mucous membranes.

Sanguinaria

Sanguinaria canadensis

bloodroot [Blooms: Mar-Apr]