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Mayapple
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Perennial
Size
Small
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
North America
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

Mayapple carpets woodland floors in dense colonies, hiding a single waxy white flower beneath its twin umbrella-shaped leaves each spring. Its rhizome produces podophyllotoxin, a compound that forms the basis of several chemotherapy drugs.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Ranunculales
Family
Berberidaceae
Genus
Podophyllum
Species
Podophyllum peltatum