Mike Powell

Each time I venture out into the forested trails of Prince William Forest Park at this time of the year I encounter different wildflowers, most of which are present for only a short period of time. This past Monday, for example, I spotted some Bloodroot plants (Sanguinaria canadensis) in bloom, my first of the season. These white flowers are a bit bigger than many of the other wildflowers that I see.

According to the Missouri Botanical Garden website, “Each [bloodroot] flower stalk produces a solitary, 2″ (50 mm) wide, 8-10 petaled, 1.5″ (38 mm) diameter, white flower with numerous yellow center stamens. Flowers open up in sun but close at night, and are very short-lived (1-2 days). Leaves continue to grow in size after bloom (sometimes to as much as 9″ (228 mm) across) and remain attractive until mid to late summer when the plant goes dormant.”

The forest floor was quite cluttered, so I decided to take this photo from directly above the bloodroot flower. I like the way that the shot emphasizes the geometric shape of the petals in an almost abstract way.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.