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Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a spring woodland wildflower native to eastern North America. Its orange-red rhizome sap gives the plant its common name.
Poison & Injury Warning
Bloodroot is toxic and is not appropriate for casual internal use or destructive home skin treatment. It contains potent alkaloids including sanguinarine.
Identification
The plant sends up a single white flower with yellow stamens and a deeply lobed leaf that often wraps around the emerging bloom. The underground rhizome releases colored sap when cut.
Historical Use
Bloodroot has a complex history in Indigenous and later American materia medica, as well as dye and ceremonial traditions. Historical medicinal uses included respiratory and topical applications, but those records do not establish safety.
Escharotic Products
Products marketed as black salve or escharotics may contain bloodroot and can destroy healthy tissue, produce severe scarring, delay diagnosis, and cause serious injury. They should not be used to self-treat cancers, moles, or suspicious skin lesions.
Poisoning Risk
Internal exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fainting, cardiovascular effects, and other serious toxicity. Suspected significant ingestion requires medical or poison-control advice.
Conservation & Folklore
Bloodroot is an important native spring ephemeral with long-standing associations with protection, vitality, dyeing, and the symbolic power of its vivid red sap.
Educational and historical information only. This is not a dosing or escharotic-use guide.