David Smith   Delaware Wildflowers

Lore: Sanguinaria means bleeding. The rhizomes when broken ooze a red-orange sap, containing the alkaloid sanguinarine which is highly toxic if ingested. The juice has been used as a treatment for ringworm. A tea made from the root was a favorite rheumatism treatment of the tribal nations along the Mississippi region. This red-orange juice has been used as a skin coloring and as paint or dye for cloth and animal hides and has also been used to color baskets.

Pollination is achieved by a variety of bees in the early spring and the mature seeds are dispersed by ants. When there is a large distribution of bloodroot plants in an area it is safe to assume that a colony of ants have been busy gathering and storing seeds for many years. Reference: Laurentian Center