Species Feature #5, Mayapple

The mayapple is nearly ubiquitous spring ground cover in the woods of the Mid-Atlantic. I have noticed it so much this year that it seemed to be just screaming for a feature in this blog. The leaf and the flower are both pretty distinctive, so this is an easy species to identify. The fruit is a green oval that develops from the flower site. They are usually found in large groups, with individual plants liked by rhizomes (connecting root structures). Those rhizomes have been used for chemotherapy and as a topical agent, but eating them (or the fruit) is not recommended. These parts of the plant are poisonous, but only in large quantities.

A sizable cluster of mayapple found in Watkins Regional Park last weekend.

Podophyllum peltatum Quick Facts


Common Name(s): mayapple, hogapple, Indian apple, mayflower, umbrella plant, wild mandrake

Taxonomic Breakdown:

• Kingdom - Plantae
• *Division - Magnoliophyta (aka Angiospermae)
• Class - Magnoliopsida
• Order - Ranunculales
• Family - Berberidaceae
• Genus - Podophyllum
• Species - peltatum

*For some reason that doesn't make much sense to me, biologists scoff at the term "phylum" for plants. Instead, between Kingdom and Class they split plants into "Divisions." This division is better known as "flowering plants" which are a subset of "seed-bearing plants (Spermatophytes). Why we don't just refer to these levels as phyla and subphyla is beyond me, but hey, I don't make the rules.

Range: Throughout the eastern US as far west as Minnesota and Texas, and North into Canada in places.

Some younger specimens near Rock Creek Park.

Here is an interesting read on the medicinal history and folklore of the mayapple. This site has a wonderful detail photo of the flower, as well as some good information. As the "mandrake" this plant makes an appearance in Shakespeare (see the quote at the top of the first link).

The flower of Podophyllum peltatum.

For variety's sake, a photo from below of mayapple growing by the roadside.