North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Sanguinaria canadensis

Sanguinaria canadensis L.

bloodroot, red puccoon

Synonym(s): Sanguinaria canadensis var. rotundifolia
Cultivar(s): Plena

Image ID: 9550
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: SACA13
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sanguinaria canadensis
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-01-05

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
1545	Plena	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: SANGU
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Sanguinaria
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Bloodroot
GENUS SUMMARY: A monotypic genus, a perennial herb, of e. North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Kiger in FNA (1997); Kadereit in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: PAPAVE
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Papaveraceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Poppy Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of 23 genera and about 230 species, mainly herbs (some shrubs and small trees), largely north temperate in distribution.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Kiger in FNA (1997); Wang et al. (2009); Kadereit in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Stemless, often colonial perennial of moist, nutrient-rich forests.
STEMS: Underground stem (rhizome) sends up leaves and flower stalks in early spring.
LEAVES: Leaves at first wrapped around the smooth, red-tinged stalk but soon expand to 5 in. or more wide; kidney-shaped, irregularly palmately lobed (3–9 lobes), waxy-green and wavy-margined.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers solitary on naked stalk, bright white, 1-2 in. wide, consisting of 6-12 elliptic petals surrounding a center of many yellow stamens and a single green ovary.
FRUITS: Fruit an erect, waxy-green, spindle-shaped capsule that splits lengthwise.
COMMENTS: Stem/rhizome exudes orange-red sap if broken.
HEIGHT: 6-12 in.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate, Basal
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Radial (Actinomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: (Late Jan-) Mar-Apr

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: White

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x

FRUITING PERIOD: Apr-May

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Moist forests
NATIVE RANGE: eastern & central North America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: In early spring, bloodroot, a member of the poppy family, produces short-lived, snow-white flowers that open during the day and close at night. Unlike many other spring bloomers, the deeply-lobed blue-green foliage of this perennial persist in the landscape until mid- to late summer. Narrow upright seed pods hold ant dispersed seeds. Under optimal conditions this species will spread to form sizeable patches. The red sap found in the underground stems of bloodroot was used by Native Americans as a dye for baskets and clothing.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 3
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 8
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
124	2012-0098	2012-12-15	125	View
178	2008-0350	2019-07-05	178	View
1399	1986-1179			View
2125	1986-1929			View
3165	1989-0146			View
3634	1991-0319			View
3669	1991-0363			View
4195	1992-0351			View
5365	1995-0487			View
5731	1995-0857			View
6301	1995-1433			View
6830	1998-0035			View
7570	2000-0333	2000-10-06		View
8352	2005-0120	2005-04-28		View
8623	2006-0205	2006-08-22		View
9325	2018-0209			View
9343	2021-0012	2021-02-22		View

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
125	HORT		NCBG staff	View
178	HORT	2008-03-17	MacIntyre	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
228	124	15	Steen	2012-03-21	View
355	178	170	MacIntyre	2008-03-17	View
2444	1399	94	NCBG staff	2006-10-12	View
2445	1399	81	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
2446	1399	83	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
2447	1399	91	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
3591	2125	74	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
3592	2125	11	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3593	2125	72	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3594	2125	73	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3595	2125	76	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3596	2125	80	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3597	2125	187	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
3598	2125	188	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
5316	3165	74	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
5933	3634	142	Liloia	1991-04-20	View
5971	3669	81	NCBG staff	1991-04-01	View
6523	4195	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
7840	5365	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
7841	5365	203	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
8245	5731	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
8956	6301	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
9678	6830	170	NCBG staff	1997-04-15	View
10644	7570	80	NCBG staff	1999-06-11	View
10645	7570	75	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10646	7570	78	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10647	7570	79	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10648	7570	198	NCBG staff	1999-05-01	View
11628	8352	241	NCBG staff	2005-04-05	View
11629	8352	60	NCBG staff	2005-04-05	View
11812	8623	205	NCBG staff	2005-04-01	View
12482	9325	145	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12526	9343	209	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12527	9343	212	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12528	9343	214	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12529	9343	210	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12530	9343	211	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
13054	0	25	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13281	0	67	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13315	0	65	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13567	9325	72	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
13687	0	66	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13766	0	71	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: SACA13
USDA Common Name: Bloodroot
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV), CAN (MB, NB, NS, ON, QC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	UPL				UPL	UPL		FACU	FACU	UPL

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sanguinaria canadensis
COMMON NAME: Bloodroot, Red Puccoon
SYNONYMY: [= C, FNA, G, K, Mo, Pa, RAB, S, Va, W, WH3; > S. canadensis var. canadensis - F; > S. canadensis var. rotundifolia (Greene) Fedde - F]
PHENOLOGY: (Late Jan-) Mar-Apr; Apr-May.
HABITAT: Moist nutrient-rich forests.
COMMENTS: NS west to MN and MB, south to Panhandle FL and OK. Fernald recognized two varieties � var. rotundifolia, more southern and the primary form in our area, considered to have leaves less lobed than the more northern var. canadensis; leaf shape variability within populations makes it impractical to recognize infraspecific taxa.
RANGE MAP: Sanguinaria canadensis.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Papaveraceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Poppy Family)
SUMMARY: A family of 23 genera and about 230 species, mainly herbs (some shrubs and small trees), largely north temperate in distribution.
REFERENCE: Kiger in FNA (1997); Wang et al. (2009); Kadereit in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Sanguinaria L. (Bloodroot)
SUMMARY: A monotypic genus, a perennial herb, of e. North America.
REFERENCE: Kiger in FNA (1997); Kadereit in Kubitzki, Rohwer, & Bittrich (1993).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Sanguinaria canadensis in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Sanguinaria canadensis in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Sanguinaria canadensis in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Sanguinaria canadensis in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Sanguinaria canadensis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Sanguinaria canadensis

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 9550 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 21988 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 38953 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)