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Podophyllum peltatum

Common name:	American Mandrake	Family:	Podophyllaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The leaves and the roots are very poisonous[1, 4, 19, 62, 222].
Range:	Eastern N. America - Southern Maine to Florida, west to Texas and Minnesota.
Habitat:	Moist soils in rich woods, thickets and pastures[43, 130].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	4

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Mandrake [H,S], American Mandrake, Mayapple [S], Amerikan Podofili [E], Devil's Apple [H], Hog-apple [H], Indian Apple [H], Mandrake, American [S], May Apple [H], May-apple [B], Mayapple [P,E,S], Podo-Huirumu [E], Racoonberry [H], Wild Lemon [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	peltatum = shield like, peltate podophyllum = footed leaf
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Turkey Us Us(Amerindian) Us(Appalachia)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 4 and is frost tender. It is in leaf from April to October, in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 4/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw, cooked or made into jams, jellies, marmalades, pies etc[1, 2, 4, 43, 101, 183]. The fruit can also be dried for later use[257]. The fruit should only be eaten when it is fully ripe[55, 62, 95], the unripe fruit is strongly laxative[183]. Remove the rind[95]. The fruit is very aromatic[95], and has a peculiar though agreeable flavour[183]. Sweet and acid. Do not eat the seeds[62]. In excess the fruit can cause colic[22, 65, 159]. The fruit is about 5cm long[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antibilious Cancer Cathartic Cytostatic Homeopathy Hydrogogue Purgative Warts Women's complaints.

American mandrake is a most powerful and useful herbal medicine, exercising an influence on every part of the system and stimulating the glands to healthy action[4]. Its greatest power lies in its action on the liver and bowels[4]. It is a gastro-intestinal irritant, a powerful hepatic and intestinal stimulant[4]. Although often used internally in the past, the plant's cytotoxic action makes it an unsafe remedy for internal use[254].
The root is antibilious, cathartic, cytostatic, hydrogogue and purgative[4, 19, 46, 57, 64, 124, 222]. The plant contains podophyllin, which has an antimiotic effect (it interferes with cell division and can thus prevent the growth of cells). It is, therefore, a possible treatment for cancer, and has been used especially in the treatment of ovarian cancer[46, 51, 57, 64, 65, 124, 244]. However, alopecia is said to be a common side-effect of this treatment[244]. The root is most active medicinally in early spring when it is beginning to shoot[4].
The resin, which is obtained from the root[207], is used in the treatment of warts and has been found to be effective against uterine warts that are sometimes experienced in pregnancy[200, 222]. It is also used in the treatment of small-cell carcinoma[207].
The root is harvested in the autumn and either dried for later use or the resin is extracted[238]. The whole plant, apart from the ripe fruit, is highly poisonous and should only be used under the supervision of a qualified practitioner[238]. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women[238]. Large doses have been used to commit suicide[213].
A homeopathic remedy is obtained from the fresh root, harvested before the fruit is ripe[232]. This is used particularly in the treatment of diarrhoea[232].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Insecticide.

An infusion of the boiled leaves has been sprayed on potato plants to protect them from insects[213]. Other reports suggest that it is insecticidal rather than repellent[238, 257].
The root ooze has been used to soak corn seed prior to planting it out in order to prevent it being eaten by crows or insects[257].

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist peaty soil and filtered light or shade[4, 111]. Grows well in a moist open woodland[28, 31] and also succeeds under beech trees in a deep moist leafy soil[130]. Succeeds in a pH ranging from 4 to 7[238].
A very hardy plant[4], tolerating temperatures down to -15° c or lower when dormant[187], though the young leaves in spring can be damaged by late frosts[233].
Plants in this genus have excited quite a lot of interest for the compounds found in their roots which have been shown to have anti-cancer activity[124]. There are various research projects under way (as of 1990)[124].
The flower has a foul smell[232].
The plant takes some years to become established[124] but is very long lived in a suitable habitat[130] and can become a vigorous colonizer[233].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Sow stored seed in a cold frame in early spring. The seed germinates in 1 - 4 months at 15° c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a shady part of the greenhouse for at least 2 growing seasons. Plant them out into their permanent positions in the winter when the plants are dormant.
Division in March/April[111].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a foul smell.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[19] Stary. F. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3
Not very comprehensive, but easy reading.

[22] Sholto-Douglas. J. Alternative Foods.
Not very comprehensive, it seems more or less like a copy of earlier writings with little added.

[28] Knight. F. P. Plants for Shade. Royal Horticultural Society. 1980 ISBN 0-900629-78-9
A small but informative booklet listing plants that can be grown in shady positions with a few cultivation details.

[31] Brown. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[55] Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973
Interesting reading.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[64] Howes. F. N. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Faber
A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.

[65] Frohne. D. and Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Wolfe 1984 ISBN 0723408394
Brilliant. Goes into technical details but in a very readable way. The best work on the subject that I've come across so far.

[95] Saunders. C. F. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications 1976 ISBN 0-486-23310-3
Useful wild plants of America. A pocket guide.

[101] Turner. N. J. and Szczawinski. A. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences 1978
A very readable guide to some wild foods of Canada.

[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.

[124] RHS. The Garden. Volume 113. Royal Horticultural Society 1988
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS, including details on Podophyllum, Canna and Protea species.

[130] ? The Plantsman. Vol. 4. 1982 - 1983. Royal Horticultural Society 1982
Excerpts from the periodical giving cultivation details and other notes on some of the useful plants, including Distylium racemosum and some perennial members of the family Berberidaceae.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[232] Castro. M. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Macmillan. London. 1990 ISBN 0-333-55581-3
A concise beginner's guide to the subject. Very readable.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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