Friday, April 17, 2009

Mayapples in April

ISRAEL GETS READY TO BOMB IRAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES WITHIN DAYS. MEANWHILE, OBAMA MAKES NICE WITH CHAVEZ, AS THE BAD GUYS ARE LICKIN' THEIR CHOPS.

MAYAPPLES ARE OUT in full force here in Middle Tennessee and I find them just as magical today as I did when I was a little girl. I love to get down near the ground and find the little apples which hide---one per stalk---underneath its umbrella leaves. If you click the image above, you can see a couple of apples in the enlarged version.

UPDATE: In response to Gerard's question, can they be et?: Mayapples are very toxic to eat unless fully ripened which they're not at this time in Tennessee. But when ripe later in May, a highly motivated wildcrafter can gather and make jelly out of 'em. Here's a recipe.

3 comments:

Bob's Blog said...

We've never heard of Mayapples. We're having a huge snowstorm here. I took some pictures tonight when I got home, and will post them later. I'll click on your post about the Israelis. I am sure that they have figured out that Obama is not going to do anything.

vanderleun said...

Them thar May apple.... kin they be et?

Webutante said...

G, yes they can be et though I didn't avail myself yesterday. I've even heard some make jelly from them. But it would take quite a bit of time to gather enough since...Mayapples don't grown on trees, ya know!

Bob, I've been in a few of those big spring snowstorms on the Eastern front of Colorado and they're amazing. Will keep up with your photos....