May Apple

This perennial plant grows in woodlands in Canada and Eastern US. It is also known as Devil’s Apple, Hog Apple, Indian Apple, Umbrella Plant, Wild Lemon, and American Mandrake. A small white flower blooms in May, and develops into a lemon yellow berry, which is the only part of the plant that is not poisonous. Native Americans and early settlers used the plant for medicinal purposes. The rhizomes in particular can be useful for modern medicine, but the plant is too toxic for use in self-medication. The plant can kill a human within 24 hours.

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