Scientific Name: Sanguinaria Canadensis
Family: Papaveraceae
Common name: Bloodroot
Description: Perennial herb, 4-16 inches tall, with no leafy stem; rhizome with bright orange-red juice; flower single on a leafless stem, opening in the day, closing at night and lasting only a short time; flowers early March-April.
Range and Habitat: In South Carolina it grows chiefly in the mountains and piedmont in a variety of moist, nutrient-rich forests.
In Porcher’s time… bloodroot was used as an expectorant in the treatment of chronic cough, pneumonia, and other respiratory ailments.
See the historical entry on this plant as it appears in Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests