The naming of plants is an interesting process.

Plants usually have two names: their two-part scientific name based on taxonomic classification, and a common name usually developed regionally.

As people began to name plants, they used outstanding characteristics of the plant, such as smell as, for example, skunk cabbage, or for texture, as with the lamb’s ear or chenille plant.

Plant names such as bleeding heart and bird of paradise mirror parts of the human anatomy or other living things.

And then some common names tell the darker story of plants, perfect for October and Halloween.

Bloodroot: Imagine being one of the first people to dig down to undercover the roots of a beautiful spring wildflower only to discover fleshy blood red appendage-like rhizomes.

When the rhizome, or the stem, is cut, a blood-like bright red sap exudes from the wound of Sanguinaria canadensis. The common name bloodroot and its genus Sanguinaria, from the Latin meaning blood, describe this spring ephemeral quite well.

Indigenous peoples of North America made dyes and medicine from the rhizomes of bloodroot. The dyes were used for basketry and body decoration.

Modern research found that the alkaloid sanguinarine, located in the rhizomes, prevented dental plaque when added to mouthwash and toothpaste. Years later, additional research connected its use with lesions that could lead to oral cancer and halted its use.

All parts of bloodroot are poisonous and may be fatal if ingested.

Bloodroot makes a wonderful addition to the home garden when kept safely away from children and pets.

Its white flowers are stunning and provide an important nectar and pollen source for the native pollinators of eastern woodlands.

True to being a spring ephemeral, the blooms fade within days. A blue-green lobed leaf emerges mid-way through blooming and unfurls at the tail end.

Ants assist in dispersing the seeds of bloodroot after the seed pod matures.

Dead Man’s Fingers: When encountering a curious mushroom while walking through the woods long ago, some ancient forager might have been the first to conjure the fanciful image of a corpse clawing its way from the grave, thus inspiring the name, dead man’s fingers.

While Xylaria polymorpha has nothing to do with the putrefaction of human flesh, it does have much to do with rot.

The decaying wood of any broad-leaved tree can host dead man’s fingers, but beech, maple, and oak are known favorites.

Found in Europe and North America east of the Rocky Mountains, dead man’s fingers are a decomposer versus a parasite; a saprobic fungus that produces energy by breaking down organic matter.

The fungus focuses on decomposing polysaccharides, a glue-like substance binding cellulose and lignin together, the two main components that form wood.

The digit-like protrusions of dead man’s fingers, from one to several, are the fungus’ fruiting bodies.

In spring, the fingers appear pallid blue or gray with noticeably white, ghoulish tips possessing an uncanny resemblance to fingernails.

These tips discharge the spores. The fungus darkens as the season advances.

Mycologists warn against eating dead man’s fingers. Two compounds found in some of the world’s most poisonous mushrooms, amatoxin and phallotoxin, are also present in Xylaria polymorpha.

Is the poor soul of some foolish forager, who gobbled down too many, truly the fungus’ namesake?

“Growing Green” is contributed by Diane Dorn, Lehigh County Extension Office Staff, and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-813-6613.