Tag Archives: Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

Bloodroot In Snow

March 12, 2026

Yesterday and today, two days to remember. What weather. Yesterday it got up to 87°. That’s mighty warm for mid-March, then at midnight it was only down to 75°, by lunchtime the temperature had dropped to 32° and it was snowing. By the time the flakes stopped pouring from the sky — 2.5 inches on the ground. There has never been that span of temperature from warm to cold in Charlottesville as long as records have been kept.

And this afternoon I captured a Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), in the snow, waiting for sunshine and warmth. They stay closed when there is no sunlight and no warmth, in order to protect their pollen.

A remarkable couple of days.

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Native Flowers Blooming At The Backdoor

March 18, 2025

I was surprised as I stepped out the back door this afternoon, as I looked around and saw my Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) blooming. I had been wanting to see some native plants blooming but it hadn’t occurred to me to think about what those blooms might be. Yay spring!

Bloodroot is a plant that fascinates me because of its relationship with ants and myrmecochory. Myrmecochory involves an ant-plant interaction. The plant, Bloodroot in this case, has a seed with an attachment called an elaiosome that is attractive to ants because of its lipids, amino acids, or other nutrients. Ants gather these seeds and take them to their nest where they are consumed by ant larvae. The seeds are then discarded. Makes me think of the ants as farmers.

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