Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum Linnaeus
Mayapple: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.org/species/1666
Synonyms
May Apple 
Tags

Map Snapshot

2,410 Records

GAALWAFRCLMOHOBABCHACEPGAACVCHSMKEQACNTADOWISOWO

Status

Range is eastern North America. Common throughout Maryland.

Description

A spring ephemeral wildflower, perennial and colonial, with a creeping rhizome. Roots are thick and fibrous. Leaves are large, round, and peltate (umbrella-like). Petioles are stout and stemlike. Nonflowering stems have only a single, terminal leaf, which is 5-9-parted. Flowering stems mostly have a pair of terminal leaves, which are deeply 3-7-parted, and a large, solitary, white flower nods in the fork between the leaves. Fruit is yellow when ripe (in mid-summer).

Where To Find

Rich woods, thickets, well drained floodplain forests, pastures, and various moist, disturbed habitats.

Relationships

Pollinated by bumble bees and other long-tongued bee species. Host to Mayapple Rust. Foliage is bitter and toxic, so this species is only sparingly browsed by White-tailed Deer. Ripe fruit are eaten by mammals, which then disperse seeds.

Resources

View at iNaturalist Search Google Images Search MBP Facebook posts
View at Maryland Plant Atlas Search Flora of North America Search Mid-Atlantic Herbaria Consortium Search Norton-Brown Herbarium Search MNPS Facebook posts

Citations

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Source: Wikipedia

Wikipedia content unavailable for this taxon.