Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, is another wildflower that colonizes in open woodlands with moist soil. It is unusual with only two leaves, and one flower blooming underneath them. I enjoy all of it’s stages from when it pokes out of the ground like an umbrella, then rises to unfold it’s leaves and show off it’s flower.
Mayapple poking through the ground
Two leaves and flower
The photo of Mayapple blooming is from my yard last year, but the upper photo is what they look like in my yard right now. I noticed them around the same time that I started hearing the frogs chirping around my pond at night. This is the sketch that came to me as these natural events coincided.
I recently learned that the ripe golden fruits that appear before Mayapple disappears back into the ground can be used in jellies. I’ll have to try that this year!
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