Sanguinaria canadensis

Sanguinaria canadensis, better known as Bloodroot, is a beautiful perennial plant used in homeopathy that also deserves a place in gardens that can provide it with the light shade and fresh humus it prefers. Bloodroot offers early spring flowering, in the form of white star-shaped cups, which emerge from the ground at the same time as the foliage. Thanks to its rootstock, it gradually colonizes the soil under deciduous trees, in front of flower beds or in borders, without becoming invasive.

Sanguinaria canadensis is a fully hardy herbaceous perennial plant, belonging to the same family as poppies, the Papaveraceae family. It is a botanical species native to eastern North America where it grows in clear understorey, in partial shade, on fresh soils rich in humus.  It is nicknamed "bloodroot" because of the blood-red exudate that oozes from the tuberous roots when they are broken. It is a slow-growing, deciduous perennial, with its aerial growth emerging from the ground in spring and disappearing during summer. Over time, it forms beautiful rounded clumps that do not exceed 25cm (10in) in height. Flowering takes place in March-April, at the same time as the leaves emerge from the ground, on plants aged 3 to 4 years. Each flower is surrounded by a leaf.  The corolla, which measures 4 to 8cm (2 to 3in) wide, is borne on a stem 25cm (10in) above the ground. Cup-shaped, it consists of 6 white petals surrounding a heart of golden yellow stamens. This flowering lasts about 2 weeks. The foliage consists of large leaves measuring up to 25cm (10in) wide, with a thick texture, in the shape of a heart or kidney. The lamina, green-grey in colour, is divided into 7 unequal lobes with a dentate margin. Each leaf unfolds in the morning and closes in the evening.  All parts of the plant are toxic if ingested.

Bloodroot likes partial shade, rich humus soils, light and fresh, non-calcareous. It pairs well with Lungworts, Epimedium grandiflorum, and Omphalodes, Trilliums or Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' , for example, all of these plants enjoy the same environments.