Meet the Mayapple

Mayapple | Podophyllum peltatum

How do you know it’s me?:

• I am an herbaceous perennial plant found in deciduous woodland areas, usually growing in large groups.

• I typically have one or two leaves and a single flower per plant.

• My white flower (sometimes tinged pink or purple) is about 2”-3” in diameter. It has a yellow center ringed with waxy white petals. It is usually located at the nexus between the plant’s two leaves, where the stem branches. Because it hangs below my leaves, it is often hard to spot.

• My leaves are large and umbrella-like. They have deep lobes, prominent veins, and attach to a smooth green stem at their center.

• In late summer to early fall, I produce a soft yellow fruit 1”-3” in size.

How big do I grow?: 1’ - 1.5’ height and 6” - 1.5’ spread.

Sun-seeker or shade-lover: Part shade to full shade.

Where I prefer to put my roots: I like moist, acidic, rich soils under deciduous hardwoods.

Hardiness: Zone 3-8

Original home: I am native to eastern and parts of central North America.

Colors: My white flower gives way to small yellow fruit.

When I bloom: Mid spring.

Wildlife friends: Bumblebees and other long-tongued bees will browse my flowers. Woodland wildlife including squirrels and turtles will eat my fruit.

Flora Fun Facts: I have one or two leaves. Generally, when I have two leaves, I will produce a flower...but when I only have one, I will not.

More Info: Mayapples are one of the many spring-flowering plants in eastern deciduous forests that transform the forest floor from gray-brown to green. Green shoots produce colonies of unfurling green umbrella leaves that give a fairy-like quality to the area. Keep an eye out for other woodland delights nearby - like the Trillium and Morel mushroom.

• A member of the Berberidaceae (Barberry) family.

• The common name - Mayapple - refers to its bloom time and the similarity of the flower to an apple blossom.

• Not every flowering plant will produce fruit.

• The leaves decline and go dormant before fall.

• It grows in groups due to its ability to spread through underground rhizomes.

• Unripe fruit, leaves, and roots are highly toxic if consumed. It is even recommended that gloves are worn when handling this plant due to the potential for contact dermatitis.

• This plant is difficult to grow in the home landscape, but can be enjoyed in native woodlands across the eastern and central US.