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This native has bold, deeply lobed, light green palmate leaves. Plants produce a single white bloom in the leaf axil in April or May, followed by a single green "apple" or fruit. Prefers moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil in partial shade. Leaves and roots are Highly Toxic if ingested! Only the RIPE fruit is edible.
Native from the Great Plains to the Atlantic, this unusual wildflower is represented by a single species in North America. Each plant has a single stem that produces one or two, shiny green, palmately lobed leaves up to 12” in diameter in early spring. Plants with two leaves, will produce a single, nodding bloom on a thin stem in the leaf axil (or crotch), typically in late April or early May. The creamy white bloom, up to 3” in diameter, has 6-9 waxy petals and yellow stamens. The bloom is followed by a fleshy, lemon-shaped, nodding, green, crab-apple sized fruit in early summer. All parts of this plant are poisonous except the ripe fruit. The fruit, or apple is actually a berry. It is ripe when it turns yellow and starts to crinkle and soften. Once the fruit has ripened the foliage will become dormant. Deer resistant. Excellent for the woodland garden, but not generally a good border plant.
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Forms colonies in rich, moist woodland soil.