Sanguinaria canadensis

Native

Dry to moderate moisture. Rich woods, forests.

Usually April to May, however it has been seen as early as March and as late as July.

White

3″ to 6″

This is an erect perennial that rises from thick reddish rhizomes with coarse fibrous roots. The rhizomes and the leaves contain an acrid red juice. The stem and leaves are sometimes covered with a whitish, waxy bloom.

A single, large basal leaf rises on a leaf stalk from the ground wrapped around a solitary flowering stalk. The leaf is 4″ to 5″ wide, roughly circular in outline, divided into 3 to 9 lobes, and has a rubbery texture. The margins are wavy or coarsely blunt-toothed. The upper surface is light green, the lower surface whitish-green. The leaf gradually opens over the season, becoming fully open when the flower withers.

The inflorescence is a single, large flower at the top of a 2″ to 6″ long, leafless flowering stalk that rises from the ground.

The flower is 1″ to 2⅓″ wide. It has 7 to 10 white petals, 4 of them usually evidently larger than the rest.