I don't think there are enough to make jelly though. Maybe next year. Hi Marie, I recently saw my first May Apple in bloom and had no clue what it was. I took a picture and sent it to a friend who leads forest walks in PA - she identified it and also warned me that the fruit is edible and all else on the plant is toxic. I was planning on going back and try to find a ripe one later in the year I guess I will pass on it for now.
Did you try to eat it again since then? With or without seeds? I've eaten them since, swallowed the seeds but did not crunch them up and no issues. They must be soft before they can be eaten The fruit can be eaten in small amounts.
But in large amounts it becomes toxic. Roots and foilage are also poisonous if eaten. However, early residents and some of the old timers here still use the juices topically for warts, stings, etc.
Can you cite a source for the "toxic in large amounts". Foraging is tricky because so many statements are handed down as fact, without any real investigation. It is good to err on the side of caution, of course I swallowed one whole on a dare at a party in the woods as an adolescent. None of us knowing what it was.
I was and still am completely fine. You are referring to commenter above? Who was talking about apple seeds, for some reason. I would not recommend Wiki-anything as a reference source for poisonous and edible plants. I put whole ones in with my smoothies seeds, skin etc and never have issues. This is the first time in over 20 years that mayapple fruits have matured to ripeness in my area of upstate NY. I have eaten them in the past' one at a time' since they are a rare treat. I eat skin along with the fruit, with no ill effects.
I separate seeds from the jelly like core in my mouth like removing grape pips , but not because I don't want to swallow them. I already have mayapples growing there, from roots I transplanted elsewhere on my property. About 8 years ago, I purchased mayapple seeds in a commercial seed packet in the state of Kentucky. I planted them but nothing came up, seed viability may be poor. If mayapples were extremely toxic, no commercial seed company would want the liability involved.
Anyone like to share their mayapple jelly or brandy recipes? Maybe someday I will get a bumper crop. Ate several this year, seeds and all. So like a normal person, I clicked on yours. I have a lot of info and I just waned to thank you and tell you that I love your site!!!
I remember sitting down and eating as many of these as I wanted when I was a kid. We were at a family reunion and they grew n the grounds there at the park. You should watch these like a hawk once the fruit sets, as forest critters will swarm them immediately as soon as they start to ripen. Did you eat the seeds? I eat apple seeds all the time. I live on Main Street in a small, New England town, and years ago someone planted Mayapples in a front garden which have flourished and are increasing year by year yippee!
I knew the RIPE fruit was edible, and my mom witnessed enough of my foraging with positive results to trust my attempt at making jelly the first year we had enough fruit. I picked a small berry-basked full of Mayapples — they smelled wonderful! And the jelly turned out to be delicious. Thanks again for this wonderful, alternate recipe! Beverly hosler. Tasted bitter but wholesome? Well, are you still alive? Or did the Mayapple do you in? Curious minds want to know! I love Mayapple as it is a native woodland plant.
People around here want want only lawns and manicured beds full of non-native shrubs, etc. They spray Mayapple with Roundup which breaks my heart. So I purposely grow it in my woodland garden and love it.
I have even heard that in England it is or was used as a ground cover in Windsor Gardens. In north carolina…. Susan S. Jean, Did you ever find out what the problem was? Did you actually plant them in your yard? Can you pick the mayapples when they are first starting to turn yellow then let them ripen on the kitchen counter?
If picked too soon, no amount of bag-time can will do it. I do this all the time! Are you saying that if they actually turn yellow and soft, they are still not safe to eat? I just picked all my mayapples early as we had a drought and all the plants were down. Fruits were large but absolutely green and hard.
I picked them all and put them on a cake rack over a large pot for maximum air circulation. I turned the fruits once in a while. Only 2 spoiled. The rest all became perfectly ripe. Does anybody know if accidentally eating just one seed is a big concern? I ate one. Has anybody else? I ate it two hours ago and tried to throw it up after 30 minutes. This is horrible. Please help if you can. I do make many different kinds of jams and jellies and may apples are great for that. My father and I also like to make homemade wines of a more exotic variety.
Prickly pear, dandelion, persimmon. This would fit the bill perfectly but I cannot find even one account where anyone has ever made wine from may apples. Any thoughts? I was thinking of using out honey from the farm as a substitute for sugar and making a may Apple honey mead. Growing up in the mountains of north Alabama, I suppose I tasted of just about everything in the woods.
Reading this information now makes me wonder about that… And the part about Indians using these to commit suicide… This site is a plethora of information! They boiled those parts of the May apple in water and then applied the cooled liquid to their potato patches to repel the insects that attacked them. When should it be put on potatoes? How to make the pesticide? I just have a question, since may apple is being used to kill some types of cancer and can make a pesticide with it , Is it possible you think to use to kill bed bugs, ants, and roaches to?
Just wondering. We've seen these plants every year on our property for the last 15 years and this year is the first one we've noticed the fruit. It's all over the place! I may have to mark and protect it It sounds luscious!!! Great information and recipes. Though I was disappointed not to find the word "poisionous", "deadly" or "toxic" anywhere in your article Please warn your readers not to nibble at anything other than the fruit of the mandrake.
It isn't pretty! Join us for a much anticipated return to the Lone Star State! Earlybird ticket discounts are now available online. You'll find tips for slashing heating bills, growing fresh, natural produce at home, and more.
That's why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing through our earth-friendly automatic renewal savings plan. In early spring, when not much is up yet, the newly unfurled Mayapple looks particularly lush with its bright vibrant green umbrella-like leaf.
Nearby the leeks and trout lily are just getting started as well. A modest stand on Mayapple early in the season. Mandrake also known as the mayapple or ground lemon is so named because of the golden fruit that appears under its massive tropical looking leaf in late May.
The fruit ripens by late June or July. Each plant has one hidden flower — Photo by Dyson Forbes. The flower gives way to the fruit — Photo by Dyson Forbes. Young fruit emerging — Photo by Dyson Forbes. The entire plant, apart from the ripe yellow fruit, is deadly toxic. Even the seeds are toxic, and you can only eat a little bit of the ripe fruit as a serving.
While it may have some medicinal uses and folklore associated with it, there have been many accounts of mayapple poisoning so it's wise to be careful with ingesting it. Young growing lemon shaped unripe fruit in late spring — Photo by Dyson Forbes. Still, it has a wonderful exotic flavour that seems out of place in the North. It is a fascinating native plant that is a wonderful midsummer treat.
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