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Sanguinaria canadensis L.

Bloodroot

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassMagnoliidaeIncludes magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, and many others
OrderPapaveralesA group that includes buttercups and other poisonous plants
FamilyPapaveraceaePoppy family
GenusSanguinariaMeans “a plant that stanches blood”
Speciescanadensis“Of or referring to Canada”

About plant names...

Bloodroot is native to eastern North America. It is named for its bright orange roots, which branch and spread to form large colonies. An yellow-orange dye is made from the roots.

Plants: 4½-16″ (12-40 cm) high.

Leaves: Each plant typically has a single leaf up to 4½″ (12 cm) across, with multiple rounded lobes. They are bumpy on the upper surface, and the undersides are pale bluish green, with large raised veins. Young plants flower while the leaf is still tightly furled around the flower stem, like a sheath, even though the leaf is on its own stem.

Flowers: White with a yellow center, with 8-15 petals, 6-10″ (15-25 cm) above the ground, appearing from March to May. (Some cultivated varieties have doubled flowers, one right on top of the other.) The petals are variable, some­times fairly narrow and sharp-tipped; others wider and more rounded.

Fruits: Shaped like a miniature cone or ear of corn, about ¾-1″ (1.9-2.5 cm) long.

Medical: The reddish root sap is poisonous, producing a burning sensation on the tongue. By some accounts it is harmful to the skin. Native peoples used the root sap to treat rheumatism, asthma, fevers, bronchial ailments, and skin conditions. The sap was sometimes used as a face and body paint. The Ponca tribe believed it to be a kind of love potion as well. After applying some sap to their hand, they contrived to hold the hand of a maiden they wished to marry, and after a few days, she would do so. Today’s applications are more prosaic: an bloodroot alkaloid called sanguinarine is used in mouthwash and toothpaste as a plaque inhibitor. We don’t recommend that you use it for anything, though, since the FDA considers it “unsafe.”

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

Missouriplants.com

2bnTheWild.com

Wikipedia

The USDA Plants Database

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

EFloras

References:

Multiple Authors, PDR for Herbal Medicines, Thomson Healthcare Inc., 2007, p. 113

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/15/1979 · Memphis, Ten­nes­see · By Tim Chandler

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

3/20/2012 · Gunpowder Falls State Park, Phoenix Rd, Phoenix, Mary­land · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

3/19/2012 · Gunpowder Falls State Park, Cockeysville, Mary­land · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

3/30/2012 · Middlesex Fells Reservation, Medford, Mass­a­chu­setts · By Susan Cole Kelly

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

3/24/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

3/24/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 27 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/30/2013 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 16 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

5/3/2014 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/29/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 14 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis L. var. rotundifolia (Greene) Fedde

 

Sanguinaria canadensis description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 20 Dec 2020.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.


 

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

3/20/2012 · Gunpowder Falls State Park, Phoenix Rd, Phoenix, Mary­land · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

Pink form. · 3/19/2012 · Gunpowder Falls State Park, Cockeysville, Mary­land · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/22/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 8.7 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

3/20/2012 · Gunpowder Falls State Park, Phoenix Rd, Phoenix, Mary­land · ≈ 11 × 7″ (27 × 18 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/23/2016 · Big Tree/Porcupine Trail, Beaver, Hollis, Mass­a­chu­setts

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

7/29/2023 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/23/2016 · Big Tree/Porcupine Trail, Beaver, Hollis, Mass­a­chu­setts

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

7/29/2023 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/28/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/30/2013 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/22/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

5/11/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 12 × 8″ (31 × 20 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

4/22/2015 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 10 cm)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

7/29/2023 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

Range:

About this map...