Bloodroot
Growth Habit
HerbaceousPropagation
Seed Treatment and Storage: Keep seed moist. Needs warm then cold then warm moist stratification. Can take 2 years to germinate
Biocultural Value
Many Native American groups, including the Meskwaki, Haudenosaunee, and Omaha, used bloodroot as a dye. The roots also served medicinal purposes as an emetic, gastrointestinal aid, tuberculosis remedy and dermatological treatment for cuts, sores, and poison ivy.
Poisonous
Bloodroot is poisonous to both livestock and humans in large doses. Alkaloids are found throughout the plant that affect the nervous system. Ingestion causes vomiting and potentially a fatal coma in those that overdose.
Wildlife Value
Mining bees (Andrena spp.) collect pollen from bloodroot's nectarless flowers and serve as plant's primary pollinators. Sweat bees (Lasioglossum spp.) also collect bloodroot pollen. When pollinators are absent, the flowers will self-pollinate near the third day of flowering. The plant is a larval host for the southern armyworm (Spodoptera eridania) and the tufted apple bud moth (Platynota idaeusalis). Ants collect and disperse the dark brown seeds, which have a lipid-rich elaisome. An aphid (Linosiphon sanguinarium) sucks plant juices from the underside of bloodroot leaves, but most mammalian herbivores avoid the acrid foliage.
Poisonous
YesLocation
Edwards Lake Cliffs Preserve, Fall Creek Gorge, Fischer Old-growth Forest, McDaniel Meadow, Woods, and Swamp, Mundy Wildflower GardenCultivation
Description
Leaves basal, palmately lobed, to 12" across. Flowers white, sometimes tinged with pink, to 1 1/2" across, solitary, on scapes about 8" high. Capsule to 1" long.
Source of plant
Andre Viette Farm & Nursery, Companion Plants
