SANGUINARIA 



"Bloodroots whose roUcd-up leaves ef you oncurl, 

 Each on em's cradle to a baby pearl." 



— Lowell. 



Hepatica and Bloodroot are like the dewdrops of early morn- 

 ing which disappear before the sun. They can be found just 

 once in the year; after that they appear no more. These are the 

 dehcate children of April; May is their foster-mother. Contact 

 with them is Hke the glimpse of a spiritucllc face. — Kirkham. 



The Bloodroot appears only a little later and often 

 with the Hepatica in rich moist woods, borders of 

 meadows, and fence corners. From the terminal buds 

 of its thickened underground stem there arises in very- 

 early spring a flower-stalk bearing, as a rule, a single 

 blossom. The starry flower of snowy whiteness with 

 a heart of gold emerges from the ground as a bud 

 carefully wrapped in a protecting leaf. In full bloom 

 it offers poUen to the hungry bees but no nectar. The 

 two sepals which enclose the bud fall as the flower 

 opens, thus showing its relationship to the poppy. 

 The fragile blossoms are elusive; when in full bloom 

 the petals fall so readily that with a touch the stem 

 stands naked. The leaf is especially beautiful; at 

 first pale green with a network of pinkish veins and 

 lobed edges, late in the season it increases greatly in 

 size, becoming one of the most beautiful leaves on the 

 forest floor. The orange-red juice of the plant was 

 one of the vegetable dyes much used by the Indians; 

 the root was also one of their medicines used especially 

 for coughs and colds. 



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