Family:
Berberidaceae
Common Name(s):
Mayapple, mandrake
Flowering Time:
May
Fruit/Seed Maturation Sign:
Fruits turn yellow on at least one side and soften; seeds turn brown
Fruit/Seed Collection Dates:
Mid to late June
Seed Cleaning:
Remove seeds as fruits decay
Storage:
Intolerant of dry storage (Cullina 2000)
Restoration Potential:
Low (extremely) by seed; high by transplant and vegetatively
Notes
Of 330 seeds planted in a central Iowa demographic study, 133 (40%) germinated and 14 plants survivied to year 5; one flowered, after 16 years (Mabry 2023). Introduce to restoration site by transplants.
Transplant survival was 94% after 7 years in a Michigan study (DeJong et al. 2017).
Has low seed output but extensive vegetative spread (Barkely 1986, Gleason and Cronquist 1991), increasing by 5.4 in/year (Whitford 1951).
Fun fact: "Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina) are the only seed dispersal agents so far identified. Turtle-ingested seeds germinate faster and have a higher probability of success than noningested seeds" (Rust and Roth 1981).
