Sanguinaria

Sanguinaria, a genus of plants of the natural order Papaveraceæ, having eight to twelve petals, two stigmas, an oblong, swollen, and many-seeded capsule with two deciduous valves. S. canadensis, the Blood-root or Puccoon of North America, has a fleshy root-stalk abounding in a red juice, which abounds also in the leaf-stalks; and solitary radical leaves, which are roundish, deeply heart-shaped, and with about seven toothed angles. The flowers are solitary and spring from the root, on short stalks. The whole plant is acrid and narcotic, emetic and purgative in large doses; and in small doses stimulant, diaphoretic, and expectorant. From its use by the Indians for staining, it is also called 'red Indian paint.' It is supposed to owe its properties to an alkaloid called Sanguinarin. The large white flowers appear early in spring, and are a frequent ornament of flower-borders.