Emerging

 I love the way Bloodroot leaves cloak the flower and only open when the flower is in full bloom!

 

Sanguinaria canadensis (Latin name from bloody root called rhizomes) is ethereally beautiful, but shares its lovliness briefly. The flower resembles a water lily and has 6-8 white petals.

Certain native ants have a win-win relationship with bloodroot. They carry the bloodroot seeds to their homes, eat the seeds’ nutritious outer layer, but he bloodroot seeds are still viable after the ant feast and are protected in a chamber within the ant nest. This chamber, along with the ants’ refuse of organic matter, provides a fertile place for the seeds to germinate. While bloodroot does spread by its rhizomes, the additional boost from ants serves to speed up the process, helping bloodroot populations to expand at a time when destruction of its habitat is rampant.