Mayapple: A Good Plant for a Hard Spot

The Mayapple, a native perennial across much of eastern North America, is one of the first wildflowers to emerge in woodlands as winter's grip breaks. It is an exotic, umbrella shaped plant which can add a touch of native woodlands to shady and moist, hard to manage areas of the yard.
The plant is winter hardy and requires no special maintenance, except for conditions which mimic it's natural woodland habitat. It can be found growing in many northern areas of the United States and well into eastern Canada.
The first recorded encounter with the plant was made by the French explorer, Samuel de Champlain as the Huron Indians cultivated the herbaceous plant in Canada in 1615. It was later discovered that members of the Cherokee Nation also used the plants for a variety of medicinal purposes, although some parts of the plant can be toxic. The Iroquois Nation also used the plant for medicinal purposes and believed the plant's roots increased a person's strength.
The plant is used in some herbal medicines, and was used by some early settlers for a wide variety of ailments. It was known to be a powerful laxative, used to treat menstrual and prostrate problems, and rheumatism among others disorders.
Pharmaceutical research beginning in the 1970's discovered that some properties of the roots were valuable in cancer treatment and research in regards to slowing or eliminating cancerous cell divisions. It should be noted this material is simply presented as part of a historical context of this early spring woodland plant and any use of the plant without qualified medical direction is not intended. The mayapple has some harmful toxins.
The mature mayapple will bloom in the late spring. Each plant will have one white flower, which by late August, will be a small, golden color crabapple like fruit which is edible and can be used in many recipes. The mayapple can be used to make a jelly, sauces, pies and a juice drink Only ripe mayapple fruits should be used; they will be soft and yellowish color.
The mayapple makes for an excellent ground cover plant in rich soil, dappled sunlight and moist conditions. It can grow one to two feet and form it colonies, spreading and growing with it's underground root system (rhizomes). They are particularly elegant when waving around in a slight breeze. Some of the colonies can spread after a few years to sunny and drier areas. However, in the heat of the summer those plants will die back to be renewed again the following spring
The mayapple is an attractive plant and is technically known as Podophyllum peltatum. It is a member of the barberry family. The mayapple is also called the umbrella plant, Indian apple, raccoon berry, wild lemon and mandrake.
Rhizomes can be purchased from some garden centers. Seeds, six to twelve or , are found in the small fruit, can also be purchased. Seeds take from one to six months to germinate and should be placed in pots or flats for a year in a shady spot before planting. Rhizomes will begin to grow the first year and should be planted according to the directions and kept moist. They can be planted in either the spring or the fall. Mayapples will do best when the soil is slightly acidic with a pH 4 to 7. They will begin to bloom from rhizomes in a year or two, from seed the plant will bloom in three to four years.
The mayapple is worth considering for the bare, wet shady parts of the yard which are difficult to maintain. They add an attractive touch of woodland beauty and are not bothered by common plant diseases and require little, if any, care once established.
Mayapples can blend in well with native ferns, trilliums and snakeroot plants for an added enhancement and woodland effect. For early spring enjoyment, native wildflowers, like the mayapple, offer some of the best results in hard to maintain shady and moist areas of the yard with the least amount of care and expense.