flower

The Last Petals of Spring /  by Todd Henson

Stages of Growth of Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) /  by Todd Henson

A pair of early spring bloodroot flowers in full bloom

Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, is a beautiful early spring wildflower native to eastern North America. The name bloodroot and Sanguinaria refers to the reddish color of the rhizome that grows underground and of the poisonous sap of the rhizome, and canadensis refers to Canada, one of the locations where this plant can be found. In this case we found the bloodroot growing along trails through the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northern part of Virginia.

In the sections below I show some of the stages of the growth of bloodroot. The earlier stages were photographed in the first week of April 2024 and the final stages, after the flower is gone, where photographed in the final week of April.

Leaf-wrapped Bud

Bloodroot is a fascinating plant. A single curled up leaf breaks through the leaf litter on the forest floor and grows above ground, and a single flower stem grows within that single curled up leaf. A bud forms on the stem and emerges from the shelter of the still curled leaf.

A bloodroot bud wrapped in its leaf

A bloodroot bud just emerging from its leaf

The Bud Emerges

The flower stem will continue growing, pushing the bud outside the protective shelter of the curled leaf.

We found this pinkish bud having just emerged from the curled up leaf below

With just the right positioning and lighting this bloodroot bud almost glows

Opening of the Bud

When the sun comes out the bud opens revealing the beautiful white petals and yellow stamens. At night the flower will close back up.

A bloodroot bud beginning to open. I liked the look of the tuft of grass in the background.

The white bloodroot bud begins to open its petals revealing the yellow stamens within

With the petals unfurled we can more clearly see the yellow stamens at the center

Bloodroot in Full Bloom

The pollen of the flowers attract insects, with mining bees being one of the star pollinators because they collect the pollen. But insects looking for nectar will be disappointed as bloodroot doesn’t produce any.

A beautiful bloodroot flower in full bloom

Looking down on a bloodroot flower

A bug in the bloodroot flower

Bloodroot Flower Details

I enjoyed trying to get in closer to the center of the bloodroot flowers to show some of their details and beauty.

Bloodroot flower details

I thought this view looked a bit like a bloodroot throne

The Leaf Unfurled

After the flower fades the leaf will open, and a pod will form on the flower stem. You can see the leaves through the middle to end of summer, after which the plant goes dormant.

A bloodroot leaf unfurled after the flower is gone, and the beginnings of a seed pod.

Seed Pod

Seeds grow inside the pod and when it opens ants will collect the seeds and bring them back to their nest, eating the part that attracted them and leaving the seed, itself, to germinate and grow in their debris piles. And just as worms can create more fertile soil, so can ants.

The beginnings of a seed pod after bloodroot has flowered

The seeds will form new plants, while the rhizomes of existing plants will continue to grow and branch off, spreading over wider areas creating colonies of bloodroot. Next spring the curled up leaves will break through the ground and the entire process will begin again.

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A Visitor To The Wild Potato Vine /  by Todd Henson

A visitor to the wild potato vine.

In mid-July my father and I walked around the shoreline trail of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I’m often drawn to the various flowers, many of which look very similar. In this case we found what I believe was a wild potato vine (Ipomoea pandurata), a member of the morning glory family, with their beautiful white flowers and deep pink interior. 

As I was attempting to find a decent view of a flower an insect, I believe some kind of bee, flew right into the one I was looking at. I then focused all my attention on that flower, getting as close as I could and attempting to see into the dark interior of the flower. The insect had flown in head first but by the time I had my camera positioned it had turned itself around and was facing me. I’ve photographed insects like this a few times and always enjoy the view it presents. Notice how the insect has its legs splayed out pushing against the flower to position itself.

Below is a slightly wider view to show the flower with the vines and leaves, and if you look closely, the tail end of the insect.

A wider view of the wild potato vine flower with the bee inside.

Tech Talk

For those technically inclined, I was photographing with my 105mm macro lens. It was an overcast day so I had my ISO up a bit to better see into the darker regions and still keep a high enough shutter speed for me to handhold.

For the wider view I used an ISO of 800, an aperture of f/6.3 and a shutter speed of 1/640. These were general middle-of-the-road settings while I was exploring the scene.

When I moved closer to see inside the flower it might have made sense to raise the ISO to better see the much darker region, but I didn’t think of that and was working fast before the insect left the flower, so I stayed at ISO 800. I was much closer to the subject so I had the foresight to stop down my aperture to f/9 to try to get more of the insect and interior in focus. The closer you get the shallower the depth of field. Stopping down the aperture helps get a wider depth of field with more in focus, and at this close range the depth of field is very small even with smaller apertures. But stopping down the aperture requires a slower shutter speed (ah, physics!), in this case 1/320 second, which I hoped was still fast enough for a sharp image.

In the end I’m pleased with how it turned out.

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