Top photo: © Matt Buckingham

Second photo: © Robin Baranowski

Third photo: © David G. Smith via www.delawarewildfowers.org

The mystery plant for April 2022 is a spring blooming native that produces two deeply cleft leaves that together look like an umbrella. If you catch it at the right time and look beneath you will find a solitary white flower with 6 9 waxy petals. Later on you might find a lemon- shaped fruit. This plant is often grows in patches several feet across, though only 1 to 1-1/2 feet tall, typically in rich woods.

It is…

Botanical Name: Podophyllum peltatum
Common Name: May-apple, Mandrake
Family: Berberidaceae (barberry family)
Habitat: moist rich woodlands

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