BLOODROOT 



Sanguinaria canadensis Linnaeus 



Bloodroot is such an ephemeral flower that we must visit the 

 woods at exactly the right time in early spring to see it in perfection. 

 The warm sun brings it into beautiful bloom, and we find its colonies 

 in rich moist woods. It has pushed through the covering of brown 

 autumn leaves that have protected it through the winter. Like other 

 members of the Poppy Family, it has an acrid juice. This is blood-red 

 in color, staining anything that it touches. The Indians used it as a 

 paint, while the white man's children gather the roots and use them 

 to color Easter eggs a soft brown hue. 



Bloodroot ranges from Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas northward 

 to Nova Scotia and Manitoba. 



The sketch was made from a specimen gathered in Washington, 

 District of Columbia. 



PLATE 113 



