MAYAPPLE

The umbrella like leaves of the Mayapple are a common sight in woodlands,where
the plant is native. It was well known to North American Indians, who valued it for its
powerful laxative effect, as a treatment for intestinal worms, as a cure for warts, and even
as an insecticide for use on their crops. Apparently the Indians recognied Mayapple!s
toxic "ualities# it is said that they sometimes ate the roots and shoots to commit suicide.
Indians also ate the Mayapple!s fruits $the only part of the plant that is no
poisonous%, as many people do this day. &ome, however, say they are insipide. 'ne ()
th
century botanist dismissed them as *somewhat mawkish, beloved of pigs, racoons and
small boys!.
The plant!s creeping rhiome, pencil+thin and up to , feet long, is the part that is
used for medicinal purposes. -athered in autumn as the plants are dying down, the
rhiomes are dried and crushed into a powder. Although the remedy has traditionally been
used to treat conditions ranging from liver ailments to cancers, Mayapple remains best
known as a laxative. .ut its purgative action is so strong that the /. &. 0ood and 1rug
Administration lists this use of the plant as *unsafe!.
All parts except the ripe fruits are poisonous.
Habitat2 0rom 3uebec to Minnesota south to 0lorida and Texas.
Identification2 A perennial herb ,+(4 inches high, usually found growing in patches. The
single, forked stem is topped by two deeply lobed, umbrellalike leaves. A solitary waxy
white flower $May%, ( 5 inches across, dangles at the fork of the stem.
The fruit, a pulpy lemon+yellow oval berry, ripens in 6uly+August. Nonflowering plants
have an unforked stem and a single leaf.
Uses2 0ully ripe fruits can be eaten raw in moderation. The powdered rhiomes have a
potent laxative effect. The rhiomes also contain potent anticancer substances, and a
derivative of one of these is used to treat human cancers. .ut extracts of the rhiomes are
much too poisonous to be used for self+medication.
Mayapple is listed in the /. &. 7harmacopeia.
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COMMON BARBERRY
The yellow wood of Common Barberry most likely was a sign to physicians long
ago that the plant was useful for 8aundice, a condition $usually caused by liver disease or
gallstones% in which the skin turns yellowish. They concluded this on the basis of a theory
called the doctrine of signatures, which held that a plant!s appearance or other
characteristics were a divine sign of the type of disease or in8ury it would cure.
The root bark and stem bark of the plant contain tannin and a substance known as
berberine, which may account for the plant!s effectiveness in treating diarrhea. Common
Barberry!s employment for bloodshot eyes appears palid, for modern pharmaceutical
products use the berberine it contains in eye preparations.
In ancient 9gypt a syrup made of Common Barberry mixed with fennel seed was
used against plagues. Modern research indicates that this remedy was probably effective
because the plant has antibacterial properties that would help ward off infectious diseases.
The berries have been used in cooking, and the wood is favoured for mar"uetrey
work.
Habitat2 Thickets, pastures, waste places.
Range2 Introduced from 9urope, Common Barberry now grows wild in North America
from Nova &cotia south to 1elaware.
Identification2 A bushy, deciduous, upright shrub growing up to (: feet tall. 'val to
oblong spiny+toothed leaves are pale green above, grayish green below. &mall yellow
flowers $May ; 6une% bloom in drooping clusters and are followed by clusters of oval
orange+red to scarlet+red fruits.
Uses2 <esearchers investigating Common Barberrys traditional use for liver and
gallbladder ailments find that preparations from the plants may improve liver function by
stimulating the production of bile by the liver. &cientists have found however, that
barberry is more likely effective as an antiseptic and antidiarrheal agent. .erberine salts,
derived from Common Barberry and other plants are used in eyedrops and eyewashes.
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