Mayapple

What it looks like

A native woodland wildflower of the barberry family, 1 to 1.5 feet tall, that spreads by underground stems into dense colonies (NC State). Plants with a single umbrella-like leaf do not flower; plants with two leaves bear one nodding white flower in the fork between them in April or May (NC State; Prince William Wildflower Society). The fruit is an egg-shaped berry 1.5 to 2 inches long, about the size of a small lemon (NC State; Wisconsin Extension), and the leaves tend to hide it (Eat The Weeds). It starts green, like a lime, and when ripe it is golden yellow, soft and a little wrinkled (Eat The Weeds; NC State). An uncommon pink-flowered form has maroon or red fruits (Wisconsin Extension). Inside are several tan seeds in the pulp (Wisconsin Extension). NC State calls the flavor lemon-like, and also bland, somewhat like an overripe melon; Eat The Weeds says some think it tastes like an earthy banana or pawpaw. Fruit set is often low (Prince William Wildflower Society), and squirrels, box turtles and other animals eat the fruit (NC State).

Safety

Every part of mayapple except the fully ripe fruit is highly poisonous, and its toxin is podophyllotoxin (NC State; Wisconsin Extension). NC State says the unripe fruit, roots, stems, seeds and leaves cause salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever and, rarely, coma. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center calls the unripe fruit, leaves and roots highly toxic and possibly fatal if eaten, and Purdue Extension warns that eating mayapple can be quite dangerous, even fatal. A man who swallowed 'mandrake' bought at a health food store, almost certainly mayapple, was hospitalized overnight with severe nausea and vomiting (Archives of Internal Medicine, 1997). Eat only fruit that is fully yellow and soft (NC State); green fruit, which looks like a lime, is unripe and poisonous (Eat The Weeds; NC State). Remove every seed: NC State says the seeds are poisonous, and Purdue says the seeds inside the ripe flesh are toxic. Even ripe fruit is edible raw only in limited quantity (NC State; U.S. Geological Survey), and eating too much can act as a laxative (Eat The Weeds). Foraging Texas says to peel the fruit and eat only the inner flesh, because the rind is a strong laxative; Eat The Weeds says the soft white inner side of the peel is edible. Eat The Weeds warns not to eat mayapple when pregnant; podophyllin, a resin made from mayapple, must not be used on pregnant patients, because birth defects, fetal death and stillbirth have been reported after its use on the skin (Podocon-25 drug label). Wear gloves: NC State advises gloves for handling any part of the plant, because contact with the leaves or roots can cause severe redness, irritation and skin ulcers, especially to the eyes. Harmless lookalikes: NC State lists Indian cucumber-root and Canada waterleaf among plants often confused with mayapple. Indian cucumber-root has whorls of 5 to 9 and 3 leaves on a thin stem and berries that ripen dark bluish-black, and Canada waterleaf has maple-shaped leaves and tiny dry capsules with stiff black hairs; mayapple has umbrella-like leaves with the stalk attached near the middle and a single egg-shaped fruit (NC State). Avoid fruit from areas that may have been treated with pesticides (NC State).

Lookalikes

• Indian cucumber-root Medeola virginiana harmless (may be edible)

  NC State lists Indian cucumber-root among plants often confused with mayapple, and mayapple among plants confused with it. Indian cucumber-root has whorled leaves on a thin, hairy stem, a lower whorl of 5 to 9 leaves and an upper whorl of 3, and berries that ripen dark bluish-black in September and October; mayapple has one or two large umbrella-like leaves with the stalk attached near the middle and a single egg-shaped fruit 1.5 to 2 inches long that ripens golden yellow (NC State). NC State says its rootstalk may be eaten raw, but that eating it is no longer recommended because the plants are becoming scarce.

  • Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple, American Mandrake) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
  • Medeola virginiana (Indian Cucumber Root) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

• Canada waterleaf (broad-leaf waterleaf) Hydrophyllum canadense harmless (may be edible)

  NC State lists Canada waterleaf among plants often confused with mayapple, and mayapple among plants confused with it. Canada waterleaf has maple-shaped leaves with 5 to 9 shallow lobes and alternate leaves on the stem, and its fruit is a tiny dry capsule (about 4 mm) with stiff black hairs; mayapple’s leaves are umbrella-like, with the stalk attached near the middle, and its fruit is a fleshy egg-shaped berry 1.5 to 2 inches long (NC State). NC State lists no poisonous parts for Canada waterleaf.

  • Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple, American Mandrake) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
  • Hydrophyllum canadense (Broad-leaf Waterleaf, Canada Waterleaf) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

Safety flags

• Eat in moderation

  podophyllotoxin (in the seeds, unripe fruit and the rest of the plant): NC State says ripe (yellow and soft) fruit is edible raw but in limited quantity, and the U.S. Geological Survey’s plant guide repeats that limit. Eat The Weeds says overeating can act as a laxative, and Foraging Texas says the rind is a strong laxative, so peel the fruit and eat only the inner flesh.

  • Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple, American Mandrake) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
  • Podophyllum peltatum (Plants of Louisiana) U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
  • Mayapple, Mandrake (Podophyllum peltatum: Forgotten Fruit) Eat The Weeds (Green Deane)
  • Mayapple (Merriwether Vizcaino) Foraging Texas

• Handling hazard (serious)

  irritant sap/pulp: NC State advises gloves for handling any part of the plant: contact with the leaves or roots can cause severe redness, irritation and skin ulcers, especially to the eyes. Podophyllin, the resin made from mayapple, is a powerful caustic and severe irritant, and eye contact calls for a doctor or poison center (Podocon-25 drug label).

  • Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple, American Mandrake) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
  • Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin
  • Mayapple, Royal Paulownia Tree (Indiana Yard and Garden, 2013) Purdue University Consumer Horticulture (Purdue Extension)
  • Podocon-25 (25% podophyllin in benzoin tincture) prescribing label, Padagis, revised June 2022 DrugCentral (University of New Mexico), text of the FDA-listed drug label

• Toxic parts

  The roots, leaves, stems, seeds and unripe fruit are highly poisonous (podophyllotoxin): salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever and, rarely, coma (NC State); the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center says they may be fatal if eaten. The seeds sit inside the edible fruit and must be removed (NC State; Purdue).

  • Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple, American Mandrake) NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
  • Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin
  • Mayapple, Royal Paulownia Tree (Indiana Yard and Garden, 2013) Purdue University Consumer Horticulture (Purdue Extension)
  • Podocon-25 (25% podophyllin in benzoin tincture) prescribing label, Padagis, revised June 2022 DrugCentral (University of New Mexico), text of the FDA-listed drug label

ID risk

Careful

Why

Every part except the fully ripe fruit is highly poisonous (NC State rates mayapple high severity), and the poisonous seeds are inside the fruit, so every seed must be removed. Pick only fruit that is golden yellow and soft: green, lime-like fruit is unripe and poisonous (NC State; Eat The Weeds). NC State lists Indian cucumber-root (whorled leaves, bluish-black berries) and Canada waterleaf (maple-shaped leaves, tiny dry bristly capsules) as plants often confused with mayapple; both grow near DC, but the likeness is in the leaves, and neither bears a fruit like mayapple’s single egg-shaped berry, so they do not raise the ID risk.

Handling hazards

Irritant sap/pulp (serious)

Soil risk

low

Field safety for every outing (poison ivy, ticks, soil, and more)

When to pick

The Prince William Wildflower Society (Northern Virginia) says the fruit matures by August; NC State says to collect it in August or September, and Eat The Weeds gives July through September. Ripe fruit is golden yellow and soft (NC State), often when the rest of the plant is dying back (Eat The Weeds). Plants that are ripening fruit keep their leaves, while plants without fruit usually die back by early summer (Prince William Wildflower Society). Animals take ripe fruit quickly (Prince William Wildflower Society; NC State). No source gives DC dates, so the start and peak here are estimates.

Where to look

Rich, moist woods and stream valleys, where it grows in large colonies; logged most in Rock Creek Park, on the C&O Canal towpath (many at Carderock), at Huntley Meadows Park, in Glencarlyn Park and along Sligo Creek. Rock Creek Park and the county parks are look-only; the C&O Canal allows edible fruits generally but sets no limit for mayapple, so it is ambiguous there (ask the park). Picking is allowed in Virginia state parks such as Mason Neck and Leesylvania, or on private land with the owner’s permission. In late summer, look under plants that still have their leaves: plants ripening fruit keep them, while the rest die back by early summer (Prince William Wildflower Society).

Habitats

old fields & meadows, woods edges, trailsides & thickets, floodplain & stream-valley forest, upland oak-hickory woods

Most-logged places

None of the most-logged places allows picking.

Ask first: rules unclear or not checked

• C&O Canal NHP (towpath, Georgetown to Great Falls MD and beyond)

  202 sightings · Legal to pick: ambiguous · see them on iNaturalist

  Ambiguous: the C&O compendium allows edible fruits, nuts and berries generally but sets no limit for this one; ask the park first. Of these, 62 are at Carderock.

Where you may pick

C&O Canal NHP’s compendium says edible fruits, nuts and berries may be gathered by hand for personal use but sets limits only for listed species; this one is not listed, so its status there is ambiguous: confirm with the park. Virginia state parks allow edible fruits, berries, fungi or nuts to be collected for personal or individual use (4VAC5-30-50). Not on Prince William Forest Park’s list. Rock Creek Park (which also runs Glover-Archbold, Battery Kemble, the western and northern Civil War Defenses forts and many small DC reservations) bans gathering any fruit, nut, berry or seed. Pick on private land only with the owner’s permission. Fruit set is often low, and the Eastern box turtle is thought to be the main disperser of the seeds (Prince William Wildflower Society); leave fruit for wildlife.

Best legal spot

Mason Neck State Park (34 obs)

• C&O Canal NHP (incl. Great Falls MD, trail-side only)

  Allowed: ambiguous · no limit set for this species; by hand, personal use; confirm with the park

  C&O 2026 compendium 2.1(c)(1): 'Edible fruits, nuts, berries, and mushrooms may be gathered by hand for personal use or consumption.' The limits table that follows does not list this species. 36 CFR 2.1(c)(1) requires designating 'certain' fruits, so the narrower reading (listed species only) is also possible. Confirm with the park.

• Virginia State Parks

  Allowed: yes · personal/individual use only; no quantity set (state parks within ~50 km: Mason Neck, Leesylvania); individual parks may post closures

  4VAC5-30-50 bars gathering any plant without a permit, except that edible fruits, berries, fungi or nuts may be collected for personal or individual use; the fully ripe mayapple is an edible fruit

Every park’s rules

Ways to use it

• eat the fully ripe flesh raw as a trail nibble, seeds removed and only a little at a time (Eat The Weeds; NC State)
• jelly, jam and marmalade (NC State; Eat The Weeds)
• a cold fruit punch: simmer the seeded fruit with ginger root, strain, sweeten, then top with ginger ale (Eat The Weeds)
• compotes, pies and a sauce like applesauce (Eat The Weeds)
• juice added to lemonade (Prince William Wildflower Society)
• harvest only fruit that is fully yellow and soft, often as the plants are dying back; green fruit is poisonous (NC State; Eat The Weeds)

Keeping

No source gives a storage time; seed the ripe fruit and freeze the pulp, or make jelly and keep it in the refrigerator or freezer, because there is no tested canning recipe.

Use within

within a few days

Keeps fresh

No source gives a storage time for ripe mayapples. Eat The Weeds says fruit picked just before it is ripe can be kept in sawdust until it ripens; eat or cook it only once it is fully yellow and soft (NC State).

Canning

no tested recipe: refrigerate or freeze, don’t can

Keeping basis

general guidance for its type

Ways to keep it

• Freeze as researched: freeze pulp; canning: n/a (not shelf-canned)

  Remove every seed and freeze the pulp; Eat The Weeds says mayapples freeze well. Pour fruit purée into containers or ice cube trays, leaving room for it to expand as it freezes (general guidance for fruit purée, University of Minnesota Extension).

• Jam/jelly as researched: jam/jelly; canning: no tested recipe — refrigerate or freeze

  Jelly, jam and marmalade are the traditional uses (NC State; Eat The Weeds). No tested canning recipe exists for mayapple, so keep jelly in the refrigerator or freezer. Do not seal jars with paraffin, as older recipes do: NCHFP says paraffin or wax seals are no longer recommended for any sweet spread.

Nutrition

Not researched: in October 2026, only the calendar’s plants of the month and chicory leaves were researched.

Native or not

Origin

native

Native range

southeastern Canada to the central & southeastern United States

Virginia invasive rank

not listed

Maryland invasive status

not listed

How the ratings were set

Find

Common in the right habitat Estimate 5,616 = 5,550 research-grade iNaturalist sightings within 25 km + 66 'cultivated' (planted) sightings (rule A); that is tier 1 by count (rule B). Rule C: none of its sources says it is common in, or a weed of, an everyday place (lawns, sidewalks, yards or gardens, vacant lots, towns), so it cannot be tier 1 (Everywhere). Rule D does not apply: the Prince William Wildflower Society says "Fruit set rates are often low for individual colonies of plants and mature fruits are even rarer", but the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora, a source of greater standing about Virginia, calls mayapple "Common throughout." Final tier 2.

Effort

Grab & eat Pick only fully yellow, soft fruit, cut it open, take out every seed and eat a little of the flesh; jelly, jam or a fruit punch (simmer the seeded fruit, strain and sweeten) is extra kitchen work (Eat The Weeds; NC State).

Sources

28 sources, each linked to the original.

1. Rock Creek Park Superintendent’s Compendium National Park ServiceBacks up: picking rules
2. C&O Canal NHP Superintendent’s Compendium National Park ServiceBacks up: picking rules
3. Prince William Forest Park Superintendent’s Compendium National Park Service, Prince William Forest ParkBacks up: picking rules
4. 4VAC5-30-50. Flowers, plants, minerals, etc. Virginia Law Library (law.lis.virginia.gov)Backs up: picking rules
5. Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple) Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at AustinBacks up: description, habitat, safety
6. Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum (Susan Mahr; updated 2025) University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Wisconsin HorticultureBacks up: description, habitat, safety, uses
7. Mayapple Plant Profile (Botanizing with Marion; Marion Blois Lobstein) Prince William Wildflower Society, a chapter of the Virginia Native Plant SocietyBacks up: description, habitat, season, uses, safety, picking rules, findability
8. Podophyllum peltatum (Mayapple, American Mandrake) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: description, habitat, season, uses, safety, native or invasive status, keeping
9. Mayapple, Mandrake (Podophyllum peltatum: Forgotten Fruit) Eat The Weeds (Green Deane)Backs up: description, uses, season, safety, storage, keeping
10. iNaturalist research-grade observations of Podophyllum peltatum within 25 km of downtown DC iNaturalistBacks up: findability
11. Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Washington-Baltimore Area, Part I (Shetler & Orli, 2000) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of BotanyBacks up: habitat
12. Podophyllum peltatum L. (Mayapple) Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (Virginia Botanical Associates)Backs up: habitat, findability
13. USDA PLANTS Database: Podophyllum peltatum (POPE), native status USDA NRCSBacks up: native or invasive status
14. Virginia Invasive Plant Species List (effective date: September 2024) Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural HeritageBacks up: native or invasive status
15. Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant Law and Regulations (Maryland Prohibited Invasive Plant List, updated January 2026; additions effective July 15, 2026; 'Next Plants To Be Assessed' 2026-2027) Maryland Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection & Weed ManagementBacks up: native or invasive status
16. Non-Native Invasive Terrestrial Plant Species in the State of Maryland (updates approved through the April 18, 2024 MISC meeting) Maryland Invasive Species CouncilBacks up: native or invasive status
17. Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, Field Guide (Swearingen & Fulton, 2022; successor to the NPS/USFWS 5th ed., 2017) Mid-Atlantic Invasive Plant Council / Passiflora Press (hosted by Bugwood/Mid-Atlantic Invaders Tool)Backs up: native or invasive status
18. Invasive Plants in the District DC Department of Energy & EnvironmentBacks up: native or invasive status
19. Mayapple, Royal Paulownia Tree (Indiana Yard and Garden, 2013) Purdue University Consumer Horticulture (Purdue Extension)Backs up: safety
20. Podophyllum peltatum (Plants of Louisiana) U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research CenterBacks up: safety
21. Mayapple (Merriwether Vizcaino) Foraging TexasBacks up: safety
22. Podocon-25 (25% podophyllin in benzoin tincture) prescribing label, Padagis, revised June 2022 DrugCentral (University of New Mexico), text of the FDA-listed drug labelBacks up: safety
23. Mandrake toxicity: a case of mistaken identity (Frasca, Brett and Yoo; Archives of Internal Medicine 157(17):2007-9, 1997), PubMed record Archives of Internal Medicine (peer-reviewed), via the National Library of Medicine (PubMed)Backs up: safety
24. Medeola virginiana (Indian Cucumber Root) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety
25. Hydrophyllum canadense (Broad-leaf Waterleaf, Canada Waterleaf) NC State Extension Gardener Plant ToolboxBacks up: safety
26. iNaturalist month-of-year histogram of research-grade mayapple observations annotated fruiting within 25 km of downtown DC iNaturalistBacks up: season
27. General Information on Canning Jams, Jellies and Marmalades National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia)Backs up: storage, keeping
28. How to freeze fruit safely University of Minnesota ExtensionBacks up: storage, keeping