bloodwort

1 9.9

A plant with deep red roots that people use to make red dye

noun
/ˈblʌdˌwɔrt/

Specialized

: sangre de grado

The herbalist recommended using bloodwort to soothe inflamed skin due to its deep red coloring matter.

Examples

She added bloodwort to the mixture, knowing its deep red roots would enhance the tincture's effectiveness.
She could have plucked flat clusters of bloodwort, chewed it to a paste, and prepared a poultice for my sore arms.

Fiction book (1994)
I thought it very unlikely, for instance, that bloodwort would be effective in making warts grow on a rival's nose, and I strongly doubted whether wood betony was useful in transforming toads into pigeons.

Fiction book (1991)
In traditional medicine, bloodwort is often used for its healing properties and vibrant root color.

Synonyms

Haemodoraceae

vsbloodwort

Specialized

9.9

A group of flowering plants often with red roots and stems

is the common name for those plants often highlighting deep red root coloring

Haemodorum

vsbloodwort

Specialized

9.9

A group of Australian plants with red roots and tall flower spikes

is a broader common name covering various family members beyond that genus

Compounds

bloodwort family

Specialized

9.9

A group of flowering plants that includes species called bloodwort

burnet bloodwort

9.9

A small garden herb with purple flowers and leaves you can eat in salads

Surface Forms

bloodwort singular

bloodworts plural

Morphology

bloodwort = blood + wort (semi-transparent) = blood + wort

The meaning is literally 'blood' + 'wort' (a plant), but 'wort' is archaic/rare and may not be known to average learners, so full transparency is reduced.

Etymology

The word bloodwort is made of blood and wort. Wort is an old English word for 'plant' or 'herb', and the blood part points to the deep red root or the red dye people got from it, so the name means a plant known for its red colour.