Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Bloodroot
One of the first of the first native wildflowers to appear each spring, this beauty pushes its fragile stems up through forest litter in early April in the Shenandoah Valley.
The delicate white blossoms are short-lived, lasting for just a few days, even when the plants are nestled in a protected nook, as is this colony in my wife's garden.
This perennial is found in open woodlands throughout the eastern half of North America, as far west as Nebraska and Manitoba.
The sap of the Bloodroot is orange-red in color and will permanently stain one's skin; it was valued by Indians for this property in body decoration, as well as for dying baskets and skins.
The scientific prefix also refers to the resemblance of the plant's sap to blood.
Indians also used an infusion of the root to treat a number of lung complaints, including asthma and bronchitis.
Investigation in modern times has confirmed the presence of certain alkaloids in Sanguinaria canadensis with antiseptic and anesthetic properties. The latter attribute, perhaps, explaining the origin of another common name, Sweet Slumber.
A useful herb as well as a beautiful wildflower, all in one plant!
Go to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.