Bloodroot
Sanguinaria canadensis
Used medicinally and in dyes for thousands of years, bloodroot is well-known for its underground stem that produces vibrant red-orange sap. It grows in forests where light at ground level can be just 1 percent of that in direct sun. Like other ground-dwelling plants of deciduous forests, bloodroot sends up leaves and flowers in the earliest weeks of spring, before the leaves of the tree canopy emerge. This can be risky. Low soil temperatures slow growth, hard killing frosts remain possible, and pollinators for the flowers of bloodroot are in short supply.
Botany Break-Out
Like bloodroot, a host of other ephemeral herbaceous plants flourish in the forest in early spring. Some of these species are very long-lived and their presence in large numbers often indicates high-quality woodlands where only minimal historic disturbance has occurred.
