Species of flowering plants belonging to the barberry family
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum[1]
Conservation status
Secure (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
Clade:
Tracheophytes
Clade:
Angiosperms
Clade:
Eudicots
Order:
Ranunculales
Family:
Berberidaceae
Genus:
Podophyllum
Species:
P. peltatum
Binomial name
Podophyllum peltatum
L.
Synonyms[3]
Anapodophyllum peltatum Moench
Podophyllum peltatum is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Berberidaceae. Its common names are mayapple, American mandrake, wild mandrake,[4] and ground lemon.[5] It is widespread across most of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada.[6][7]
Mayapples are woodland plants, typically growing in colonies derived from a single root. The stems grow to 30–40 cm (12 in to 16 in) tall, with palmately lobed umbrella-like leaves up to 20–40 cm (8 in to 16 in) diameter with 3–9 shallowly to deeply cut lobes. The plants produce several stems from a creeping underground rhizome; some stems bear a single leaf and do not produce any flower or fruit, while flowering stems produce a pair or more leaves with 1–8 flowers in the axil between the apical leaves. The flowers are white, yellow or red, 2–6 cm (1" to 2") diameter with 6–9 petals, and mature into a green, yellow or red fleshy fruit 2–5 cm (1 in to 2 in) long.[8]
All the parts of the plant are poisonous, including the green fruit, but once the fruit has turned yellow, it can be safely eaten.[9] The ripe fruit does not produce toxicity.[10]
The substance they contain (podophyllotoxin or podophyllin) is used as a purgative and as a cytostatic. Posalfilin is a drug containing podophyllin and salicylic acid that is used to treat the plantar wart. Podophyllotoxin is highly toxic if consumed.
They are also grown as ornamental plants for their attractive foliage and flowers, and they are a larval host for the golden borer moth and the may apple borer.[11]
Though the common name is mayapple,[12] in some areas it is the flower that appears in early May, not the "apple". The fruit or "apple" is usually produced early in summer and ripens later in summer.
Many species of plants have mycorrhizae to assist with nutrient uptake in infertile conditions. Mayapple plants are considered obligately dependent upon such mycorrhizae, although it may also be facultatively dependent upon rhizome age and soil nutrient levels.[13] Plants are commonly found infected by the rust Allodus podophylli, appearing as honeycomb-patterned orange colonies under the leaves, and yellowish lesions on the upper surface.[14][15]
^1896 illustration from Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
^NatureServe (5 April 2024). "Podophyllum peltatum". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
^The Plant List, Podophyllum peltatum L.
^"Podophyllum peltatum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
^Plants for a Future, retrieved 28 March 2015
^"Podophyllum L.". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
^Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map
^Flora of North America, Vol. 3, Podophyllum Linnaeus
^Bess, James (2005). "Conservation Assessment for the mayapple borer moth (Papaipema rutila (Guenee))" (PDF). United States Forest Service. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
^Podophyllum peltatum at USDA PLANTS Database
^Watson, M.A. and five others. 2001. The developmental ecology of mycorrhizal associations in mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, Berberidaceae. Evolutionary Ecology 15: 425–442.
^"Puccinia podophyllin Schwein. Mayapple rust". Iowa State University, Ada Hayden Herbarium (ISC). Retrieved 2013-03-16.
^Bunyard, Britt A. 2013 "Mayapple Rust Resurrection" FUNGI 6(1): 38–39.
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Podophyllumpeltatum is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Berberidaceae. Its common names are mayapple, American mandrake, wild mandrake, and...
mandrake, in the Cucurbitaceae family) or the American mandrake (Podophyllumpeltatum in the Berberidaceae family) which have similar properties. The plants...
(1880). "Pharmakologische Studien über Podophyllumpeltatum" [Pharmacological studies of Podophyllumpeltatum]. Archiv für experimentelle Pathologie und...
substances naturally occurring in the root of American Mayapple plant (Podophyllumpeltatum). Some epipodophyllotoxin derivatives are currently used in the treatment...
Indian apple is a common name for several plants and may refer to: Podophyllumpeltatum, a toxic, herbaceous perennial plant Datura innoxia, a hallucinogenic...
vinifera) is not hardy and are used as rootstocks American mayapple (Podophyllumpeltatum; Berberidaceae) American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana; Ebenaceae):...
This enzyme is isolated from the plants Forsythia intermedia and Podophyllumpeltatum. Xia ZQ, Costa MA, Pelissier HC, Davin LB, Lewis NG (April 2001)...
antineoplastic lignan obtained primarily from the American mayapple (Podophyllumpeltatum) and Himalayan mayapple (Sinopodophyllum hexandrum). It has anti-microtubule...
(Gaylussacia baccata), and swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum). Mayapple (Podophyllumpeltatum) is a common herbaceous plant. Hemlock-northern hardwood forests...
podophyllotoxin from the rhizome of the mayapple (or "American mandrake", Podophyllumpeltatum). More specifically, it is a glycoside of podophyllotoxin with a...
with the milky latex may irritate eyes and skin.[citation needed] Podophyllumpeltatum mayapple Berberidaceae Green portions of the plant, unripe fruit...
derivative of podophyllotoxin from the rhizome of the wild mandrake (Podophyllumpeltatum). More specifically, it is a glycoside of podophyllotoxin with a...
gangrene. Pluchea sericea, used as an antidiarrheal and eyewash. Podophyllumpeltatum, used as an emetic, cathartic, and anthelmintic agent. They also...
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