Mayapple is a familiar woodland plant with interesting foliage. It develops very quickly during the warmer days of spring. There is no other plant within the state that resembles it; the only other species in this genus occur in Asia. People can eat the ripe berries in limited amounts, even though they may be mildly toxic. The flavor is bland and resembles an overripe melon.

This native perennial plant is 1–1½' tall. Some plants are unbranched and produce a single leaf from a long stalk, while others produce a pair of leaves on long petioles at the apex of this stalk. The stalks are light green, glabrous, and round. The leaves are up to 1' long and across; they are orbicular, palmately lobed, cleft, and dentate along the margins. There are 5-9 lobes per leaf that are deeply divided. Like the stalks, the leaves are glabrous. On plants with a single leaf, the petiole joins the leaf blade in the middle, creating an umbrella-like appearance; on plants with a pair of leaves, the petioles join the leaf blades toward the inner margin of each leaf. Plants with a pair of leaves produce a single nodding flower where the petioles branch from each other. This flower is about 1½' across and has 6-9 broad white petals. There are twice the number of stamens as there are petals and a single superior ovary with a mealy glob of styles at its apex. These reproductive organs are pale yellow-orange. The sepals are deciduous and drop from the flower at an early stage of its development. The blooming period occurs from mid- to late spring and lasts about 3 weeks. There is a pleasant floral scent. Each flower is replaced by an ovoid berry that is fleshy and contains several seeds. It is about 2' long and turns yellow when ripe. This berry is produced only when cross-pollination of the flower occurs. The root system is fibrous and produces long rhizomes. Mayapple often produces dense vegetative colonies that exclude other spring-flowering plants.

Mayapple is a common plant that occurs in every county of Illinois (see Distribution Map). It is found primarily in mesic deciduous woodlands, open woodlands, and partially shaded hillside seeps.

Podophyllum peltatum L.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Ont., Que.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: Eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and Ontario (USDA-NRCS 1999), New England (Brumback and Mehrhoff 1996), west to Minnesota, eastern Kansas (Freeman pers. comm.) and Nebraska (Steinauer pers. comm.); south to Texas, Louisiana (USDA-NRCS 1999), throughout Alabama to the panhandle of Florida (Schotz pers. comm.); east to the Carolinas.

Rhizomes: annual elongation increments (2-)6-20 cm. Leaves of nonflowering shoots 2-5 dm; blade 18-38 × 18-38 cm. Flowering shoots 3-6 dm; leaves nearly opposite, slightly unequal in size; petioles 5-15 cm; proximal blades 10-35 × 14-40 cm, distal blades 6-25 × 10-33 cm. Leaf blades 5-7(-9)-parted, parts lobed or not (frequently 2-lobed), margins entire or coarsely dentate, teeth apiculate; surfaces abaxially sparsely pubescent to glabrous. Flowers solitary, nodding, fragrant; peduncle arising from angle between petioles, 1.5-6 cm; sepals orbiculate, 10-18 × 10-18 mm; petals white, rarely pink, obovate, 15-35 × 10-25 mm; stamens 2 times number of petals, 8-13 mm; filaments 3-5 mm; anthers 5-8 × 1-1.5 mm; ovaries 6-12 × 4-8 mm; style 1-2 mm; stigmas 3-6 mm. Berries yellow, rarely orange or maroon, 3.5-5.5 × 2.0-4 cm. Seeds 30-50, ovoid, 6-8 × 4-6 mm. 2 n = 12.

Mayapple is a common plant that occurs in every county of Illinois (see Distribution Map). It is found primarily in mesic deciduous woodlands, open woodlands, and partially shaded hillside seeps.

Mixed deciduous forest, fields, moist road banks, river banks; 50-800m.

Comments: This species is found in rich cove forests and mesic hardwood forests, typically those with soils that are not too acidic (Schafale pers. comm.); on circumneutral soils, this species can occur in dry-mesic oak-hickory forests (Schafale pers. comm.). This species is most typically found at low topographic positions (Pittillo pers. comm., Schafale pers. comm.), but it can also be found along ridgetops, especially on amphibolite substrate (Schafale pers. comm.). In northern portions of its range it is associated with maple woodlands and forests, occasionally along floodplains (Labrecque pers. comm.). It is also found in disturbed areas and along roadways (Enser pers. comm.), and persists in old gardens (Labrecque pers. comm.).

The flowers are pollinated by bumblebees and other long-tongued bees. These insects suck nectar or collect pollen. The foliage is avoided by mammalian herbivores because of its poisonous qualities and bitter taste. The seeds and rhizomes are also poisonous. The berries are edible if they are fully ripe; they are eaten by box turtles and possibly by such mammals as opossums, raccoons, and skunks. The seeds are distributed to new locations in the faeces of these animals.

Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple)
(Long-tongued bees suck nectar, collect pollen, or explore the flowers; observations are from Robertson and Motten; Robertson assumed that the flowers produced nectar, but Motten states that the flowers are nectarless)

Bees (long-tongued)
Apidae (Apinae): Apis mellifera cp (Rb); Apidae (Bombini): Bombus bimaculatus cp/exp (Mtt), Bombus griseocallis sn (Rb), Bombus impatiens sn (Rb), Bombus pensylvanica sn (Rb); Anthophoridae (Eucerini): Synhalonia speciosa sn (Rb); Anthophoridae (Xylocopini): Xylocopa virginica cp/exp (Mtt)

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / spot causer
epiphyllous, rather scattered pycnidium of Phomopsis coelomycetous anamorph of Phomopsis podophylli causes spots on fading leaf of Podophyllum peltatum

Foodplant / spot causer
amphigenous, gregarious, usually on the veins pycnidium of Phyllosticta coelomycetous anamorph of Phyllosticta podophylli causes spots on live leaf of Podophyllum peltatum
Remarks: season: 9

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300

Comments: Probably tens or hundreds of thousands of populations are extant rangewide. Connecticut: 1?; Iowa: several dozen to hundreds; Indiana: thousands; Kansas: >100; Maryland: hundreds; North Carolina: thousands; Nebraska: 25-50?, 2 known; New Hampshire: 1?; Rhode Island: 2 (introduced); South Carolina: hundreds; Tennessee: several hundred or perhaps thousands; Vermont: 2; Quebec: 7 (5 likely introduced by Native Americans, 2 in old gardens) (Brumback and Mehrhoff 1996, APSU 1999).

Since this is such a common species throughout much of its range, these numbers can only be estimates. Additional information on species distribution and the number of populations can be gleaned from county occurrence dot maps (USDA-NRCS 1999).

It is possible that North Carolina populations seldom set fruit, and that reproduction from seed may be rare (Schafale pers. comm.). Only rarely have fruit been observed in North Carolina, in contrast with abundant ripe fruit observed in southern Illinois (Schafale pers. comm.).

Flowering spring, fruiting late spring-summer; summer deciduous.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 0
Specimens with Barcodes: 3
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Reasons: This species has a very broad range, has a wide variety of wooded habitats across its range, and is regularly encountered in appropriate habitat (Schafale pers. comm.). It tolerates moderate disturbance (Homoya pers. comm.) and can be found in regenerating woodlands. At present, collection for the plant trade seems to only be at very low levels.

Comments: There is evidence from a reliable source that plant collecting from wild populations is occurring for the plant trade on national forest lands in North Carolina (Kauffman pers. comm., Corbin pers. comm.). Collection permits for Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests in North Carolina were for the following amounts (dry weight): 1997 - 3600 lbs.; 1998 - 600 lbs.; 1999 - 3200 lbs. (Kauffman pers. comm.).

A large dealer in herbs based in the southern Appalachians sold 2,000-3,000 lbs. (dry) in 1999 (Fletcher pers. comm.).

This species is not among the high-price medicinal species in the black market (Corbin pers. comm.), and wildcrafting of this species may be very limited in scale (Suggs pers. comm.). The market has been erratic the past few years (Blakley pers. comm.), with some batches being thrown out when prices plummeted after it was announced that medications developed from this species may be carcinogenic (Fletcher pers. comm., Suggs pers. comm.). Nevertheless, there may be renewed interest in this species for other purposes (Fletcher pers. comm.), as evidenced by the collection permits within two Forest Service districts in North Carolina. There are varying reports of current sources of the bioactive compound, podophyllin, found in this species; Suggs (pers. comm.) thinks that it is from an oriental species of Podophyllum, whereas Blakley (pers. comm.) thinks it is being generated synthetically. Some companies have discontinued offering this product (Halvorsen pers. comm.). In Tennessee, this plant is collected from the wild and sold as nursery stock (Warren Co. Nursery).

A person knowledgable about the herbal medicinal trade says that the plant receives only very modest usage, estimated at less than one thousand pounds per year (M. McGuffin pers. comm.).

As with all native forest herbs, habitat conversion and urban/rural development are significant direct threats (Homoya pers. comm., Pittman pers. comm., Kunsman pers. comm., Pearson pers. comm., Schafale pers. comm.).

Threats to the two native populations in Vermont are extensive logging (although selective logging in the winter would be less damaging) and road widening (Vermont Nongame and Natural Heritage).

It is possible that North Carolina populations seldom set fruit, and that reproduction from seed may be rare (Schafale pers. comm.). Only rarely have fruit been observed in North Carolina, in contrast with abundant ripe fruit observed in southern Illinois (Schafale pers. comm.).

Biological Research Needs: There is a need to determine sustainable collection levels from healthy, wild populations (Kauffman pers. comm.).

The preference is dappled light shade, moist to slightly dry conditions, and a rich loamy soil with abundant organic matter. This plant is easy to start from rhizomes and adapts well to new situations. It has a tendency to spread vegetatively, but this is controllable. The foliage dies down by the end of summer.

Comments: The Podophyllum used pharmaceutically is the Indian mayapple (McGuffin pers. comm.).

Prices for this species were found as follows:

Central Tennessee, nursery: $0.40/bare root whole plant (wild-collected and sold in bundles of 50)

The following forms have been described: 

 Podophyllum peltatum forma aphyllum Plitt--fertile shoots with no foliage leaves; Podophyllum peltatum forma biltmoreanum Steyermark--fruits orange; Podophyllum peltatum forma deamii Raymond--fruits and seeds maroon, and flowers, placentae, and plant axes pink-tinged; Podophyllum peltatum forma polycarpum (Clute) Plitt--flowers with multiple, free carpels.

The ripe fruit of Podophyllum peltatum is considered edible; all other parts of the plant are toxic. Several lignans and their glycosides, present in the resin extracted from rhizomes and roots, exhibit antitumor activity. Etoposide, a semisynthetic derivative of one of the lignans, is currently used in the treatment of small-cell lung cancer and testicular cancer (P. M. Dewick 1983). Native Americans used Podophyllum for a wide variety of medicinal purposes and as an insecticide (D. E. Moerman 1986).

Podophyllum peltatum is sometimes cultivated in woodland gardens, and some populations on the periphery of its geographical range may be escapes from cultivation.