Mayapple – Podophyllum peltatum
(Berberidaceae)
Mayapple is an herbaceous, woodland perennial that spreads by rhizomes (horizontal, underground stems) effectively carpeting an area with stands of large, umbrella-like leaves. Vertical petioles rise one to two feet from the earth to connect to the center of what looks like a single, green parasol torn ragged by the wind. Despite this crude description, the foliage is actually quite attractive, especially viewed en masse, swaying in a gentle breeze.
Unlike the single leaf of the sterile stems, flowering stems of mayapple fork near the top to bear two leaves as well as a nodding, pale-cream, fragrant flower. When pollinated the flower develops a pendant, pale-yellow fruit (reminiscent of a blood-pressure cuff bulb) roughly the size of an apricot. This fruit is edible when ripe, though all parts of this plant contain varying amounts of a toxin named podophyllin.
Mayapple is an excellent ground covering species, growing best in rich, moist garden soils with dappled sunlight but capable of colonizing dry sites over time. Mayapple can overrun and shade out many smaller plants and should be planted with this in consideration.
Mayapple is native to the eastern United States and Canada growing from Quebec south to Florida and west to Minnesota and Texas.
Native Plant Spotlight
Eastern Red Cedar
Winterberry
Sweetfern
Northern Catalpa
Fothergilla
Eastern Prickly Pear
Franklinia
Poison Ivy
Twin Leaf
Mayapple
Marsh Marigold
Alternate-leaved Dogwood
Beach Pea
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