Mayapples...They Aren’t Really Apples ©

 

 

Mayapple, podophyllum peltatum, picture by the Author.

If you have ever wandered through the spring or early summer woods of the eastern half of the United States and Canada, then you have probably seen mayapples, podophyllum peltatum, springing up from the ground in the moist areas under deciduous trees...but they aren’t really apples.  In fact, except for the ripened berry, all other parts of the plant, the stems, roots, unripe berries, and the seeds in the berry, all contain podophyllotoxin, an alkaloid, that is highly poisonous!

 

Mayapples, podophyllum peltatum

 

A painting by Charles Frederick Millspaugh, 1887, in American Medicinal Plants, from Wikimedia, HERE.

Mayapples are also known as indian apples, american mandrake, wild mandrake, or pomme de mai, and even though it is a highly poisonous plant, it has been used for centuries as a cathartic medical tonic to purge a patient and relieve constipation and induce vomiting¹, and the ripe berries, which is the only part of the plant that is not poisonous, with the poisonous seeds removed, have been eaten or made into jams or pies² for just as long.

 

An excerpt from Medicine in Virginia in the eighteenth century, by Wyndham B. Blanton, M.D., page 216.

The mayapple, podophyllum peltatum, is a common and widespread herbaceous perennial plant that is native across much of eastern North America, growing in colonies from a single root, in open deciduous forests, shady fields, roadsides, and riverbanks.  Just as with many other native wildflowers, mayapples sprout early in the spring, before the surrounding trees develop leaves, and then the stems and leaves wither and die by mid-summer.

 

Mayapple, podophyllum peltatum, distribution, from “Podophyllum peltatum L.”, by Natural Resource Conservation Service.

The upright stems all grow from a single, branched root, which is made up of many thick, dark to reddish brown tubers connected by fleshy, fibrous tendrils and downward spreading roots.  Each terminal bud on the roots produces a single shoot which will develop into a 12-18 inch (30-45 cm) tall stem, with one or two umbrella-like (peltate) leaves, having between five and nine lobes.

 

A mayapple, podophyllum peltatum, photograph by the Author.

Mayapples are called mayapples, because they flower in April or May, and because the flowers look like apple blossoms.  Only stems with two leaf stalks will have a single flower, which will bud from the axil, where the two leaves attach to the stalk.  Each blossom is about two to three inches (5-8 cm) across and is white to rose-colored with six to nine waxy petals.  The flowers are quite pretty, but they are often hard to find as they are hidden under the leaves and are short lived.

 

“Flower from the Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)”, by Willthomas, from Wikimedia, HERE.

The pollinated flower produces a green, lemon-shaped berry, containing several tan seeds.  These 1-½ to 2 inch (4-5 cm) long berries turn to a golden, yellow color, sometimes tinged with pink or purple by late summer.  The ripened berries (but not the seeds) are edible and can be used in preserves or pies. 

 

“Botanical model of Podophyllum peltatum by George and Paul Marchand in the Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, New York, USA”, by Daderot, from Wikimedia, HERE.

So next time you are walking in the early spring to late summer woods of eastern North America, and you see large umbrella like leaves sprouting under the trees, you’ll know that they are mayapples, which aren’t really apples at all!

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Dry Gripes, Lead Poisoning and Mayapples©”, where we will talk about on the historical, medical uses of mayapples and a common 18^th century ailment, which was actually a symptom of lead poisoning!

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ For more information on the historical, medical uses of mayapples, look for a future article entitled “Dry Gripes, Lead Poisoning and Mayapples©”

 

² For more information on making mayapple jams or pies, become a Patreon subscriber and look for a future article entitled “Cooking with Mayapples©”

 

Sources

 

Blanton, Wyndham B., M.D.; Medicine in Virginia in the eighteenth century, [Richmond, Garrett & Massie, Inc., 1931], page 216, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001557339, accessed June 21, 2022

 

Elias, Thomas S. and Dykeman, Peter A.; Field Guide To North American Edible Wild Plants, [Outdoor Life Books, Times Mirror Magazines, Inc., New York, NY, 1982], pages 140 and 262.

 

Mahr, Susan; “Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum”, [© 2022 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, University of Wisconsin – Madison], https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/mayapple-podophyllum-peltatum/, accessed June 12, 2022

 

Natural Resource Conservation Service; “Podophyllum peltatum L.”, [United States Department of Agriculture], https://adminplants.sc.egov.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=POPE, accessed June 12, 2022

 

Wikimedia, “American_medicinal_plants;_an_illustrated_and_descriptive_guide_to_the_American_plants_used_as_homopathic_remedies-_their_history,_preparation,_chemist”, by Charles Frederick Millspaugh, 1887, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_medicinal_plants;_an_illustrated_and_descriptive_guide_to_the_American_plants_used_as_homopathic_remedies-_their_history,_preparation,_chemistry_and_physiological_effects_(1887)_(17534042604).jpg, accessed June 21, 2022

 

Wikimedia, “Botanical model of Podophyllum peltatum by George and Paul Marchand in the Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, New York, USA”, by Daderot, January 20, 2010; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marchand_models_in_Buffalo_Museum_of_Science_-_IMG_3839.JPG, accessed June 21, 2022

 

Wikimedia, “Flower from the Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum)”, by Willthomas, April 26, 2021, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Podophyllum_peltatum_flower.jpg, accessed June 21, 2022,