IBarberri? 3ramili?. 



Mandrake. Podxyphyllum peltaPwm. 



May Apple. 



Found in woodlands during May and June. 



The single stalk, 14 to 18 inches in height, bears upon its summit 

 a pair of great leaves on forking stems; it is large, round, very hard 

 and fibrous, juicy, smooth, and somewhat glossy; a dry, tough, pale 

 sheath enwraps it at the foot. In color it is a very light green, almost 

 white. 



The leaves are almost a foot across and nearly circular in shape, 

 divided into 5 or 9 wedge-shaped radiating parts which are often 2- (or 

 more) lobed, and with as many main ribs as there are divisions ; all the 

 lesser ribs and veins are conspicuous in these highly ornamental leaves 

 — they have shallow but sharp-pointed margins, and are rather thin in 

 texture, smooth and glossy, and of a rich dark green color, whitened 

 with bloom underneath. The stems are large and pale. 



The flower is formed of several wedge-shaped petals (6 to 9), firm 

 and thick of texture, showing many fine-netted veins, and dull white in 

 color ; they spread and curve about the base of the prominent greenish 

 seed-box, the large and conspicuous stamens forming a ring in the 

 center. The flower, on a pale stem, grows from between the leaf-stems 

 with a distinct inclination to one side. 



In bud the flower is enfolded by 3 temporary bracts, — the 6 calyx- 

 parts also fall when the petals expand. The long rather oval fruit is 

 found eatable by the uncritical palates of children. 



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