Down Amongst the Mayapples

cognoscere (68)in #photography • 9 years ago

No, we typically don't get apples to mature here in New Jersey in April, or in May for that matter.

I'm talking about Podophyllum peltatum which is commonly known as the mayapple, American mandrake, or ground lemon.

The woods are finally alive in Central New Jersey, and it's pretty amazing how it just suddenly happens in the blink of an eye.

And, it's important to remember to slow down enough to stop and take notice, because it's over soon after it starts.

A grouping of mayapples are easily spotted this time of year before the forest floor gets consumed with underbrush.

I spotted them about twenty yards off the trail on a lunchtime walk this afternoon and felt obliged to get down and capture them. But there's so much blooming right now that I also took photos of some of the other flowering plants I passed along the way.

And I'm sure some of our fellow Steemians you will know what they are.

Here's an excerpt about the mayapple from thespruce.com: Mayapple: Native Shade Plant of Eastern North America: Poisonous but Striking Spring Ephemeral, BY DAVID BEAULIEU, 02/24/17

_{Mayapple is one wild plant that is quite easy to identify. Nothing else looks even remotely like it. Moreover, as a colonizing perennial that spreads via rhizomes to form monocultures, you're most likely to encounter it in a mass formation that's hard to miss. So once you see a photo of its leaf, you'll be forever "in the know" about this remarkable plant.}

_{Mayapple plants grow to a height of 12-18 inches. The leaves are massive relative to the overall size of the plant, attaining a width of up to 1 foot. Leaf color starts out olive-green with hints of copper when the plants first emerge in spring (April for me here in zone 5), before morphing to a richer, solid green in summer.}

_{The unique foliage is toothed on the margins, deeply indented; it is reminiscent of an umbrella when it first unfurls in spring. The student of Mayapple plants will detect some variation in the leaves from plant to plant.}

_{The namesake "apple" is a fruit that succeeds the short-lived white flower that comes out in May.}