12.26.2011 Bloodroot Medley

I love Bloodroot.  It’s amongst the first Spring wildflowers and is a real pick-me-up after a long winter.  The ground is still covered with dried brown leaves and there is mud everywhere.  There are a couple of others, but the Bloodroot tells me it’s Spring and time to get excited about wildflowers again.

So, as we wind down the year and I wait for snow and ice to start offering some great subjects, I took a look through my flower images and put together this little Bloodroot study.  It is in the Poppy family and was used by Native Americans as a red dye, hence the name.  Another interesting fact is that the seeds are spread by ants.

I guess ants carried some of the seeds up onto the ledge where I found this neatly wrapped present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depending on the spread of the leaf, you can see the petals open to reveal the lovely yellow anthers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some leaves are more clasping than others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the flower opens just right the backdrop of the leaf allows a handsome portrait.