Mayapple

alt Hogapple, Indian apple, Mayflower, Umbrella plant, Wild lemon, Wild mandrake, American mandrake

Podophyllum peltatum
May 19, 2010
 
Most flowers are shameless about strutting their stuff, but this one hides out beneath a dense mat of foot-high foliage. It's pollinated by bumblebees and other bees, perhaps by mistake as it has no nectar. There seems to be a minor academic sub-industry studying the pollination of this thing.
 
Altho the flowers bloom in May, the fruit appears and ripens later in the summer. It's edible in small quantities when ripe, but toxic in large amounts. Sort of like mercury, I guess (if you ask the coal industry). I think I'll pass.
 

Here's a look at the foliage: