Common Name: Mayapple or Mandrake
Scientific Name: Podophyllum peltatum
Family Name: Berberidaceae
Highway 176
Polk County, North Carolina
April 13, 2002
Flowering stems of these rhizomatous perennials have 2 roughly circular, 3 - 7 lobed, pelate leaves, 6 - 8 inches wide, with a single waxy flower, 1 - 2 inches across, between them. Flowerless stems have only a single leaf. The plants are medicinal but poisonous in too large an amount. Native to the eastern U.S., they are frequent in low, alluvial woods and moist meadows throughout North Carolina. March - April [Justice, William S. and Bell, C. Ritchie, Wild Flowers of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1968]
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Alphabetical Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Family Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Genus Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z