Simply known today as mayapple, or in older parlance: "Indian apple," this woodland wildflower perhaps is best noted for its large leaves that open like umbrellas to cover the single white flower and "apple" like fruit that eventually forms below in the crotch of the plant.
The small green fruit is toxic, only becoming barely edible when it ripens to a pale yellow-green which led to an alternate folk name, "wild lemon." But watch it! Here's the caveat: Ingested in large amounts, even the ripe fruit can be poisonous. So it's better to appreciate this forest perennial from afar.
All parts of mayapple contain podophyllotoxin, a plant chemical sold under the trade name Condylox, a topical gel used to treat genital warts—an embarrassment for both us and the plant alike—and something we learned about from the Native Americans.
Can you imagine that shame-faced conversation: "I know I'm new to your country and plan to take it away from you but I have genital warts, can you help me?"
Not a pleasant thought. But it also explains yet another folk name for the plant, "Devils apple," as in "Give the devil his due."
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