The Indians (Native Americans) used the 'blood' of these flowers for dyes - clothing and war paint. I found that the 'blood' made me a bit itchy when I put it on my wrist to show the color. I probably don't want to dye clothes with it.
I just read up a bit more on Bloodroot - apparently it has been linked to cancer and skin deformations. Perhaps I should stop smearing it on my wrist to show the color of the sap. I also learned that it is planted by ants. This process is called myrmecochory. The seed of the bloodroot contains an oil that the ants eat so they take the seed, eat the oil stuff and leave the seeds buried in their garbage bins - along with other good plant nutrients and soil that is aerated by the ant colony. I suppose this information has a very slim chance of being useful to anyone outside of the botanical nerd domain.
I think it was kinda interesting. and it could bear weight in the whole 'ant vs. wildflower' debate. Just one more piece of the whole puzzle that points to the fact that nature doesn't exist on a 'versus' level at all.
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