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Podophyllum peltatum L.

Mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassMagnoliidaeIncludes magnolias, nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado, black pepper, and many others
OrderRanunculalesBasal (evolved earlier) eudicots, also called “true dicots”
FamilyBerberidaceaeBarberry family
GenusPodophyllum
SpeciespeltatumShield-shaped

About plant names...

Mayapple is a native of North America. The common name "umbrella plant" refers to the appearance of the young plants, which look like shiny, tightly furled umbrellas.

Identification: Plants are 12-16″ (30-40 cm) high, sometimes growing in dense clonal colonies. Fertile plants are topped by 2-3 leaves 8-12″ (20-30 cm) in diameter. Each leaf has 5-9 deeply cut lobes. Sterile plants are topped by a single, umbrella-like leaf. The fertile plant has a single white to pinkish flower, growing from the point where the two leaf stems intersect, 1-1¾″ (3-5 cm) in diameter, with 6 petals, sometimes up to 9. The fruit resembles an apple, and is 1¼-2″ (3.2-5 cm) around.

Edibility: Poisonous Skull & Crossbones Leaves, stems and roots are poisonous. The yellow, soft, ripe fruits are edible if they have not been treated with pesticides. Washed with warm water, the lemon-like fruit can be made into jam or jelly. Ripe fruits are also edible raw, but they aren't very tasty that way ("insipid," according to one source), and can cause discomfort if they are not fully ripe.

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

From Köhler, Franz Eugen, Medizinal-Pflantzen, Gera-Untermhaus, FE Köhler, 1887.

Online References:

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Missouriplants.com

Wikipedia

The Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide

Plants.ces.ncsu.edu

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/23/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook C, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/28/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Wildflower Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

3/5/2000 · Memphis, Ten­nes­see · By Tim Chandler

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

7/10/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 7 × 11″ (18 × 28 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

4/8/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, Monkton Rd, Sparks, Mary­land · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

7/28/2017 · Porcupine Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 6 × 4″ (16 × 11 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/28/2017 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Wildflower Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/5/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook C, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

8/17/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Wildflower Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm)

 

Podophyllum peltatum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 23 Aug 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.


 

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/21/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/15/1979 · Virginia · By Tim Chandler

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/3/2014 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

4/6/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, Sparks, Mary­land · ≈ 2 × 1′ (62 × 41 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

4/6/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, Sparks, Mary­land · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

4/16/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/23/2016 · Wildflower Trail, Beaver Brook C, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

4/29/2013 · Beaver Brook Assn Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 17 × 11″ (42 × 28 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/14/2012 · Acton Arboretum, Acton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 2 × 1′ (62 × 41 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

3/26/1998 · Memphis, Ten­nes­see · By Tim Chandler

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 2 × 1′ (62 × 41 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

4/23/2016 · Big Tree/Porcupine Trail, Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Hollis, Mass­a­chu­setts

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

8/17/2019 · Beaver Brook Conservation Area, Wildflower Trail, Hollis, New Hamp­shire · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm)

Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple, mandrake root, American mandrake, raccoon berry, wild lemon, Indian apple, duck’s foot, hog apple, umbrella plant, ground lemon)

3/5/2000 · Memphis, Ten­nes­see · By Tim Chandler

Range: Zones 3-8:

About this map...