Sanguinaria canadensis gets its name from the red sap produced by the roots and stem. The first batches of them that I have seen are up in the Kindergarten Woods at Leopold Nature Center. Many of the clumps have a dozen flowers, give or take, and usually all the plants are produced from a single parent plant's rootstock. If you spot a single white flower with 8 petals and yellow stamens with one or two large green leaves that eventually dwarf the flower, you've spotted bloodroot. This perennial flower prefers wet woody areas and like other spring ephemerals grows quickly in spring, taking advantage of the sunlight streaming past the still-bare trees above. Once forests leaf out completely in May, bloodroot will have spread its seed, completed a year of life, and returned underground to be dormant for the rest of the year. Many more ephermals will be flowering soon to make use of the strong spring light on the forest floor while the trees continue preparations for leaf making.
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