Bloodroot
Haemodorum corymbosum

Family: Haemodoraceae

What it is like

A herb with keeps growing from year to year. The rootstock is a bulb. The plant grows to 1 m high. The leaves arise from the base of the plant. The leaves are smooth and narrow and slightly leathery. They have veins along them and are something like grass. The leaves are 45-74 cm long by 0.2-1 cm wide. They are a dull grey-green colour. They have a point at the tip and a V shaped with a sheath at the base. The flowers are a deep red colour. They are 0.5-1.2 cm long. The flowers occur at the end of long reddish stalks which come from the base of the plant. The fruit is a flattish round 3-lobed capsule. It is up to 1 cm across and red when ripe. It produces red juice when squeezed.

There are about 20 Haemodorum species. They are mostly in Australia.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows naturally on shallow gravely soils.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia (country/location of origin), Pacific, Papua New Guinea

How it is used for food

The bulbs are eaten after roasting.

Edible parts

Root, bulbs

How it is grown

It Australia, plants flower from November to March and fruit during the same period.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Now Haemodorum coccineum;