Bloodroot blooms for only a week. Its petals open and close with the sunlight. Individual Bloodroot plants produce more petals as they age.

Their life history is quite interesting. Dispersion often occurs with the help of ants who gather up their seeds and carry them underground to their nests. The ants are interested in the "elaiosome", a fatty attachment to the seed. They carry the seed down into their underground colony where they detach and feed on the elaiosome.

The remainder of the seed is carried to the ant colony's version of a trash pile. Here the Bloodroot seeds are able to germinate and make their way back to the surface.

Location: Thompson Wildlife Management Area, Va