1 



WHITE 



BLOOD-ROOT. 



Sanguinaria Canadensis. Poppy Family. 



Rootstock. — Thick ; charged with a crimson juice. Scape. — Naked ; one- 

 flowered. Leaves. — Rounded ; deeply lobed. Flower. — White ; terminal. 

 Calyx. — Of two sepals falling early. Corolla. — Of eight to twelve snow- 

 white petals. Stamens. — About twenty-four. Pistil. — One; short. 



In early April the curled-up leaf of the blood-root, wrapped in 

 its papery bracts, pushes its firm tip through the earth and brown 

 leaves, bearing within its carefully shielded burden, the young 

 erect flower-bud. When the perils of the way are passed and a 

 safe height is reached, this pale, deeply lobed leaf resigns its 

 precious charge and gradually unfolds itself; meanwhile the bud 

 slowly swells into a blossom. 



Surely no flower of the year can vie with this in spotless 

 beauty. Its very transitoriness enhances its charm. The snowy 

 petals fall from about their golden centre before one has had 

 tim.e to grow satiated with their perfection. Unless the rocky 

 hillsides and wood-borders are jealously watched it may escape 

 us altogether. One or two warm sunny days will hasten it to 

 maturity, and a few more hours of wind and storm shatter its 

 loveliness. 



Care should be taken in picking the flower — if it must be 

 picked — as the red liquid which oozes blood-like from the 

 wounded stem makes a lasting stain. This crimson juice was 

 prized by the Indians as a decoration for their faces and toma- 

 hawks. 



