bloodweed n [See quot 1882] Sth, esp TX Cf bloodweed worm n
= giant ragweed n.
1882 NY Times (NY) 23 May 4/7, In the Brazos bottom grows a weed, in height 15 or 20 feet. . . It is called “blood-weed,” from the fact that when broken there escapes a juice almost as red as blood. . . There are many instances where crops are raised by feeding the work stock exclusively on this weed. 1898 Jrl. Amer. Folkl. 11.229, Ambrosia trifida, . . blood-weed, Tex. 1920 Macon Beacon (MS) 15 Oct 1/2, The site was an ideal place, as the land is so rich along the creek that blood-weeds grow as high as a one-story house and as rank in proportion. 1926 Torreya 26.6, Ambrosia trifida. . . Bloodweed, Natchez, Miss. 1946 Reeves–Bain Flora TX 246, Bloodweed. . . Coarse annual; usually 1–3 m. tall. 1951 PADS 15.41 TX, The giant ragweed or bloodweed reaches a height of fifteen or more feet on the Texas coast. 1959 Anniston Star (AL) 17 May Vacation sec 10/5, Many local fishermen rate the weed worm as the best natural bait available. It is a small white worm, one to two inches in length, found in the bloodweed. 1967–69 DARE (Qu. S21) Infs TX11, 52, VA69, Bloodweed(s); LA20, Bloodweed—tall weed with three-pronged leaves—has green stalks but when you squeeze a leaf or break the stalk you get like a bloodstain on your finger [FW—sounds like giant ragweed]. 1983 Austin Amer.–Statesman (TX) 29 Dec Neighbor sec 1/5, Besides slowing the flow of water in creeks, bloodweed, also known as giant ragweed, is a major irritant for allergy sufferers. 2015 in 2020 DARE File—Internet AL, When I was a kid, my Pop stopped at a ditch on the way to the lake and started cutting weeds and piling them in the truck. He was cutting what he called “bloodweed” and said it was gonna be bait. Huh? When we got to the lake, he said he only cut the ones with a hole in the stem, and when we needed a bait he would split the stem and find a little white grub and put it on a hook.