NAT. ORDER. 
Papaveracece. 
SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS. 
Class XIII. Polyandria. Order I Monogynia. 
Gen. Char. Sepals, two, ovate, caduous. Petals, three to twelve. 
Stamens, twenty-four. Stigmas, bisulcate. Capsules, oblong, 
two-valved. 
Spe. Char. Leaf, radical, kidney-shaped, lobed. Flowers, double or 
single, large or small. 
This is a small perennial American herb, abounding in a blood- 
colored juice, with one leaf and one scape rising from each bud. 
Professor Barton describes the Blood-root as a highly valuable herb, 
and from whom we quote the following : " The root of Puccoon is 
perennial, and of no definite size. It varies in thickness, from a 
quarter to a half, or sometimes three-quarters of an inch in diameter ; 
and in length from two to four inches. It is generally about the size 
and length of a finger; fleshy, round, and abruptly terminated; 
being for the most part tolerably straight in the middle, with a cur- 
vature at each end. It is commonly of the shape represented in the 
plate, though not unfrequently, particularly in the new plant, shorter, 
and contorted or bent upwards. Occasionally a number of roots are 
connected together, principally by no closer attachment than that 
produced by a fasciculation of the numerous fibres originating from 
the main body. The external color of the root is brownish, 
inclining to copper ; but being cut, it appears of a red hue ; and a 
bright orange-colored juice is abundantly discharged ; the end always 
has the appearance of having been cut off by a dull instrument, or 
Vol. iii —121. 
