Early Spring Wildflowers: Bloodroot
By Denese. Filed in East TN |
Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
Psalms 147:8
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), so named because of the red/orange juicy roots, is one of the earliest wildflowers to come up in our area.
It is a very fragile spring flower that grows to a height of 10 inches and opens in the sun and closes at night.
Bloodroot blooms from March to May and can be found in rich woodlands and along streams from Canada to Florida to Texas.
After flowering, Bloodroot produces a long, pointy seedpod that opens in late summer.
The red juice from the roots was used by Native Americans as a dye for baskets, clothes, war paint and as an insect repellant.
We haven’t tried it as a bug repellant but my children do use it for war paint! 
Denese
Tags: nature, photos, Science, scripture, wildflowers
Tuesday, March 17th 2009 at 7:22 pm
Boy, that old camera I gave you sure does take good pics!!! How pretty!!! I forget what being out in the woods in the spring is like..
Wednesday, March 18th 2009 at 9:18 am
Yes it does.
Thanks mom!