Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sanguinaria canadensis
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Bloodroot from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sanguinaria canadensis
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sanguinaria canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Sanguinaria canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 085-01-001:
Sanguinaria canadensis FAMILY Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sanguinaria canadensis
COMMON NAME:
Bloodroot, Red Puccoon
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_saca13_001_lvd
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_canadensis_3732
February McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
)
Harry Davis hld1312_crw_4744
March Greenville County SC
)
Jerry Bright jeb_031508_055
March McCormick County SC
Stevens Creek Heritage Preserve
8-16 white petals, 4 of which are slightly longer than the others, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm080322_041
March Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm080329_045
March Pickens County SC
Keowee Toxaway State Natural Area
Each plant has only one flower and usually only one leaf, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm110313_942
March Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
A superior ovary, and about twice as many stamens as petals, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm110313_945
March Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm110313_975
March Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
A double-flowered form?
)
JK Marlow jkm120330_221
March Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Leaf often glaucous beneath, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm160326_113
March Laurens County SC
Thick rhizomes with bright orange-red juice, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Jose Villa jov_031123_1557
March Oconee County SC
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_canadensis_3572
March Lancaster County SC
Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve
The single leaf is folded around the flower scape, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Keith Bradley kab_s_canadensis_3699
March Lancaster County SC
Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Roxanna Martin rlm3812_20
March Spartanburg County SC
)
Steve Marlow snm080322_043
March Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk1312_b
March?
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmsanguinaria_perfect
March? Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk1312_d
April
)
JK Marlow jkm0304e_18
April Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Leaf is circular in outline but palmately lobed, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm0504g_06
April Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm190413_7273
April Rabun County GA
Capsule fusiform [broadest near the middle and tapering toward both ends], per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm190413_7283
April Rabun County GA
)
JK Marlow jkm200427_4334
April Greenville County SC
In cultivation
)
JK Marlow jkm230428_2797
April Greenville County SC
Mountain Bridge Wilderness
)
Steve Marlow snm100403_102
April Pickens County SC
Nine Times Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm160505_506
May Jackson County NC
Seeds contain a white, lipid-rich appendage (elaiosome) that attracts ants, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm160505_512
May Jackson County NC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Sanguinaria canadensis
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Sanguinaria canadensis
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Sanguinaria canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Sanguinaria canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 085-01-001:
Sanguinaria canadensis
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sanguinaria canadensis
1312
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist nutrient-rich forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has orange to red latex (milky sap)
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal: usually a solitary leaf
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring
White
Radially symmetrical, or nearly so
2-merous
2 sepals
8-12 petals
16-24 stamens (approximately)
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p248
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p151
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p167
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p014
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p188
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p232
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p364
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p181
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p176
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p134
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p017
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p089
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p277
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p047
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p068
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p435
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p053
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