The blood root is one of the early blooming spring wild flowers. The root juice is red and has dye and alleged medical uses. Lore claims that American indians used the red as face paint. Possibly so, but one proven ability of hte juice is to *kill flesh* - treating conditions of the skin such as ringworm, warts, polyps, fungal growths and the like - so the indian braves had to be really brave. Sometimes locally abundant, this plant is generally somewhat rare.