Bloodroot

Description:

A 10-12 white-petal flower with one green leaf with multiple lobes. It stands less than 6" tall. The plant oozes a red poisonous liquid if cut. Bloodroot is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory. The seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes, and put the seeds in their nest debris, where they are protected until they germinate. They also benefit from growing in a medium made richer by the ant nest debris.

Habitat:

Found growing in moist to dry woods and thickets, often on flood plains and near shores or streams on slopes. They grow less frequently in clearings and meadows or on dunes, and are rarely found in disturbed sites.

Notes:

Spotted at Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve near Cairo, GA.