Wild-Flower Study 



55 



The juice is acrid, and the bloodroot is not relished as food by grazing 

 animals, but it is used by us as a medicine. 



Method The bloodroot may, in the fall, be transplanted in a pot of 

 woods earth, care being taken not to disturb its roots. It should be 

 placed out of doors in a protected place where it may have natural condi- 

 tions, and be brought to the schoolroom for study in March, so that the 

 whole act of the unfolding of leaves and flowers may be observed by the 

 pupils. Otherwise the questions must be given the pupils to answer as 

 they find the plants blossoming in the woods in April. The blossoms are 

 too fragile to be successfully transported for study at home or school. 



Observations i. At what time of year does bloodroot blossom ? In 

 what situations does it thrive? 



2. What do we see first when the bloodroot puts its head above the 

 soil? Where is the flower bud? How is it protected by the leaf ? How 

 does the leaf hold the flower stem after the flower is in blossom? 



3. Study the flower. How many sepals has it? What is their color? 

 What is the position of the sepals when the flower is in bud ? What is 

 their position when the flower opens? How many petals? What is 

 their color and texture? Describe the position of the petals in the bud 

 and in the open flower. Look straight into the flower; is its shape cir- 

 cular or square? 



4. Do the flowers close nights and during dark days? Do the flowers 

 longest open do this ? Describe how the petals and sepals fall. 



5. Describe the stamens. What is the color of the anthers? Of the 

 pollen? Describe the pistil. Does the two-grooved stigma open before 



Bloodroot. 

 Photographed by Verne Morton. 



