Plant · GBIF taxon 3033839
mayapple
Podophyllum peltatumAlso known as American Mandrake, Wild Mandrake
Mayapple is a clonal woodland herb with umbrella-like lobed leaves rising from a creeping rhizome. Flowering shoots bear two leaves with a single white blossom tucked beneath them.
woodland herbclonal colonyumbrella leaf
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Least ConcernConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXLeast ConcernRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Produces energy through photosynthesis and stores resources in a spreading underground rhizome
Predators
- deer
- slugs
- insect herbivores
ThreatsForest loss, trampling, deer browsing, invasive plants, and intensive wild collection
HabitatsRich deciduous woods, shaded slopes, floodplains, and moist forest edges
Life spanA long-lived perennial whose connected colonies can persist for many years
Size / weightNot available
Classification
- FamilyBerberidaceae
- SpeciesPodophyllum peltatum
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskHigh
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is high
- Most plant tissues contain toxic compounds and should not be swallowed.
- Why it is dangerous
- Mayapple tissues contain podophyllotoxin-related compounds that can cause serious poisoning when ingested.
- How to recognize a risky encounter
- Confirm deeply lobed umbrella-shaped leaves arising in colonies from a shared creeping rhizome.
- What to do
- Do not taste or prepare any wild material, and wash hands after necessary contact with damaged tissues.
Responsible observation
- Identify: Look beneath paired umbrella-like leaves for a single white flower.
- Observe: Stay beside the colony rather than stepping among connected shoots.
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