What is the relevance of the title, Petals of Blood by Ngugi Wa Thiongo?

The meaning of the title is never fully explained, although in Chapter Two, Munira's pupils find red flowers that they describe as having "petals of blood." Tne one red flower in a field of blue and white flowers might be seen as a symbol of Munira's feelings of solitude.... his estrangement from his family and the rest of the community. It might also foreshadow the future destruction of Ilmorog.