Bloodwort literally means "Blood Root" (Wherever you see "wort" think "root"). It got it's name from the roots which, when crushed yield a
red coloring that was used by indians and early settlers for clothing dye, face paint and anything else that needed a little color.
Bloodwort - Near Warsaw
Bloodwort - Inside Sakatah State Park
To see Bloodwort, you have to be on the Sakatah early in the spring. This is because the
flower is an "Ephemeral". What this means is because it grows under the shade of trees, the best time for it
to flower is in the very early spring before the trees leaf out and reduce the sun. So Bloodwort has a very
short growing season to bloom, pollinate and reproduce itself. If you will notice from the picture, the Bloodwort
is growing through the dead leaves left from last year.
Bloodroot can be easily seen in April near the beginning of the Lime Valley trailhead and a mile of so inside of
Sakatah state park right along the trail (left side heading east, side closest to the lake) the picture on the right was
taken on the trail inside of Sakatah state park.
Also, past Warsaw getting close to Faribault, look for it again, that is where the picture on the left was taken.
If you catch it at the right time, the sides will be gloriously adorned with Bllodroot, they tend to grow in patches.
Between Bloodwort and Dwarf Trout Lilies, it's a great motivation to get out on the trail early.
Click here for Wikipedia Technical Article on Bloodwort
