BERBERIDACE.^— BARBERRY FAMILY 



' MAY-APPLE. WILD MANDRAKE 



PodophyUiun peltdtinn 



« 



PodopliyUiim, from pons, foot, and phyllon, leaf, prob- 

 ably referring to the stout stems; duck-foot leaf is 

 the probable meaning. 



Perennial. Growing in beds and patches in open woods 

 and fields. Nova Scotia to Ontario and Minnesota, 

 southward to Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Abundant 

 in northern Ohio. May. 



Rootstock. — Thick, horizontal, poisonous. 



Stem. — Erect, twelve to eighteen inches high, bearing 

 one or two leaves; one-leaved stems are barren; rising 

 from the ground like a folded umbrella; two-leaved 

 stems bear a single flower. 



Leaves. — Basal leaves centrally peltate, from four to 

 ten inches across, long-petioled, five to seven-lobed; lobes 

 oblong, rather wedge-shaped, two-cleft, and dentate at 

 apex. 



Flowers. — Saucer-shaped, cream-white, nodding, borne 

 in the fork between the two leaves, one and a half to two 

 inches across. 



Calyx. — Sepals six, falling as the flower opens. 



Corolla. — Petals six to nine, cream-white, concave, obo- 

 vate. 



Stamens. — Twelve to eighteen; anthers linear, opening 

 lengthwise. 



Pistil. — One; ovary ovoid; stigma large, thick, sessile. 



85 



