Scarlet Bloodroot

 

Characteristics

The Scarlet Bloodroot is a grass like organism originating from Northern Australia and is between 80-90cm in size as a full-grown adult, while juveniles are usually around 40-50cm in size.  The flowering plant looks similar to the plant ‘Kangaroo Paw’ which is the common name for a lot of plants under the family Haemodoraceae, and can be easily mistaken for this particular plant. The Scarlet Bloodroot can be distinguished by its colour and flowers. Its flowers can either be a deep red hue or an orange reddish colour, that fades out as it reaches the ends of the bud.

 

Distribution, Abundance and Habitat

This plant has been found in tropical places near the equator, Australia and now, Papua New Guinea. It was originally found in the Top End of the Northern Territory and some areas of  Northern Queensland in Australia. Scarlet Bloodroot is native to open woodlands with lateritic soils (iron rich soil) or sandstone.

 

Judging by the data that was shown, the Scarlet Bloodroot was sparse in numbers around the 1930's, but then increased drastically from 1940's onward. Then the data shows that it decreased in the 2000's and is slowly decreasing today. The weather conditions in the Northern Territory are very humid , therefore it is highly likely that Scarlet Bloodroot sprouts and matures during the Wet Season (October – April/May) and decreases in numbers as the Dry Season kicks in, although the roots keep intact as the seasons change.

 

Impacts

The Scarlet Bloodroot is of least concern on both the IUCN and EPBC Act, possibly because no particular organism naturally digests the plant for nutrition. Additionally, it is not specifically managed by either the IUCN or EPBC Act.