The variable mayapple

Taking a look at the flowers not yet overwhelmed by Japanese knotweed along the Delaware River in New York yesterday, I found some interesting mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum).

With its pairs of umbrella-like leaves and single flowers hanging between, this is a familiar American woodlander often occurring in broad sweeps in deciduous woods. It’s very distinctive.

In these woods along the river, there was a great variety of leaf shapes and colors – at various stages of development – just a few yards apart. In the first picture, a patch of well developed green foliage represent the familiar type. The second picture, taken about 10ft from the first, shows a late developer with bronze tinted foliage. On another site a few miles away, the distinction between early green and late bronze was even more apparent.

A pretty pink-flowered form with bronze-tinted leaves is occasionally listed by nurseries, that’s the one in the third picture – not quite flowering in the garden here.

I’ll be checking he flowers on all of them soon.

BTW – Research has shown that germination of mayapple seed is improved if the fruits are eaten by, and pass through, a box turtle!

Comments

[Digger]

Isn't it amazing how many things are inter dependent on each other, It's only when we interfere that things go awry. You have some really interesting animals where you are Graham.

[Graham Rice]

I'll be keeping a close eye on the podophyllums in the garden (whose flowers are just about to open) when the fruits ripen. I can just see them from where I sit typing this. Now, a picture of a box turtle eating a mayapple, that would be something.