Description:
Bloodroot is a storied desert bloom whose crimson-veined roots drink from stone, not soil. Feared and favored in equal measure, it grows in places where others perish—burnt plains, salt-choked basins, and fire-blasted ridges. Though it blooms rarely, its true gift lies below: a thick, red resin that seeps from its Bloodroot demands pain for every gift it gives.
Structure & Growth:
- Blooms alone or in sparse twos, typically near charred stone or wind-scoured flats
- Thin, wiry stalk with six narrow, curling petals that open at midday and close at dusk
- Taproot twists deep into hardpan or rock cracks, sometimes coiling around buried bones
- The root pulses faintly with heat when freshly unearthed
Color & Resin:
- Petals are pale-gold, veined with fine red lines like dried blood
- Root interior bleeds a thick, rust-red resin when cut or crushed
- Resin warms the skin, smells of spiced earth and ash
- Can be dried into a dark powder for poultices or blended into bloodbinding salves
Scent & Reaction:
- Bloom smells faintly of scorched herbs and rain on dust
- Root resin, when warmed, calms inflammation and draws poison toward the surface of the skin
- Ingested in small doses, it cools fever and strengthens the heart—too much induces burning visions and vomiting of bile
- Painful to harvest; contact with the living root may sting or cause the gatherer’s hands to tremble
Folklore:
"The root bleeds so you don’t have to.
It is said Bloodroot grows where the sun has slain the land. In old tongue, some call it Svartra Hlíf—the Black Shield—for its power to draw sickness into itself. Healers burn offerings near its bloom before daring to dig. Woundbinders whisper that in battlefields where no prayers reach, Blóðrót sometimes rises from blood-soaked sand overnight. A dried root worn against the skin is believed to steal pain in silence—though it must be buried again after use, lest it begin to pulse and thirst."
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