Podophyllum peltatum f. deamii - Pink Flowered Mayapple

Podophyllum peltatum forma deamii is a rare variation of the North American native mayapple that produces a reddish pigment in a number of it's parts; most notably in its flowers (appearing pink) and it's fruit (appearing maroon).  Color aside, this form has only been documented in the wild in a couple locations.  

Here is a bit of historical info from Julian A. Steyermark in "COLOR FORMS OF THE MAY-APPLE":

"In 1948 Dr. Marcel Raymond of the Montreal Botanical Garden described (Rhodora 50: 18) Podophyllum peltatum f. Deamii, based upon a plant with maroon or dark-reddish fruit found originally by Dr. C. C. Deam in 1927 in "a wood on the Arthur Miller farm near Mauckport, Harrison County," Indiana.  From the living plants grown by Deam in his garden and sent to the Montreal Botanical Garden, the latter institution succeeded in growing plants to maturity and eventually offered seeds for distribution to a number of other botanical gardens...

...About the time Dr. Raymond's form was published, Mrs. Mary C. Rodeman of Jefferson City, Missouri, wrote the present author that she had found a pink-flowered purplish-red-fruited form of the May-apple near Jefferson City, eventually kindly furnishing me with an herbarium specimen and a kodachrome slide as evidence.  She had been acquainted with this color variation since 1923.  In the spring of 1950 she had taken a couple of the plants to Dr. Edgar Anderson for planting at the Missouri Botanical Garden Arboretum."

Steyermark, Julian A. “COLOR-FORMS OF THE MAY-APPLE.” Rhodora, vol. 54, no. 641, 1952, pp. 131–134. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23305399. Accessed 2 Apr. 2021. 

 

In July of 1950, Julian Steyermark traveled to Missouri to confirm whether the pigmented P. peltatum reported by Mary Rodeman matched the characteristics of the newly named forma deamii.  

There, guided by Mrs. Rodeman to a shallow woodland ravine bordering a tributary to the Moreau River just Southwest of Jefferson, Missouri, Julian was able to observe what appeared to be two colonies totaling nearly two-dozen pigmented plants matching the characteristics of the recently named forma deamii among a larger population of "normal" P. peltatum.  

While the original plants of this form were discovered in Indiana and distributed among various botanical gardens, it appears that the only specimen to make it into the nursery trade for distribution to private gardeners was from the Missouri population.  This (originally wild - now cultivated) clone has been distributed under the cultivar name of 'Missouri May' which in one regard may not be appropriate because named cultivars should in theory be distinguishable from other members of the species.  While P. peltatum f. deamii is distinct from the straight species, the actual clone in circulation isn't necessarily distinct from other members of forma deamii.  That said, I'll forgive this undeserved cultivar name simply because it connects this clone to its history.

Color notes for standard mayapple follow:

• Flowers - white petals with pale green colored stigma and ovary
• Fruit - yellowish-green to pale yellow skin over white fleshy portion of pericarp.
• Seeds - pale yellow
• Rhizome tips - yellowish-green 
• Other - various above ground parts - green

Color notes for forma deamii mayapple follow:

• Flowers - pinkish to pale pink petals with deep vinaceous colored stigma and ovary
• Fruit - maroon-colored skin over off white/pinkish-lavender tinged fleshy portion of pericarp
• Seeds - maroon or dark vinaceous
• Rhizome tips - reddish-purple/deep vinaceous color
• Other - dull lavender flecks or suffusion over stem, peduncle, pedicel and petiole

One area where further observation is needed is in the pollination requirements of the 'Missouri May' selection of P. peltatum forma deamii mayapple.  It is known that within the species as a whole there are both self-fertile populations which set fruit even as large clonal colonies as well as out-crossing populations which require the presence of more than one clone in order to set fruit.  Therefore it is possible that individuals within forma deamii could be either self-fertile or out-crossers; this being important information for those who would like to obtain fruit when planting the one deamii clone currently available to home gardeners. 

If it is found that the 'Missouri May' selection is an out-crossing type and unable to set fruit on its own it will still be possible to obtain fruit production simply by interplanting it with a more readily available standard green form of the species.  You don't need to worry about polluting the gene pool of the forma deamii population either since it was already known to occur in mixed populations with the standard type in the wild.  I would hypothesize that the genetic trait responsible for the pigment production within forma deamii is likely based on a recessive gene or otherwise uncommon gene combination which would explain why it exists as an outlier within the species.  

A fun side note is that Julian Steyermark was also able to document a small population of Podophyllum peltatum that produced fruit with a rich apricot to mango-orange colored skin just North of Barrington, Illinois.  This variant was published as Podophyllum peltatum forma biltmoreanum.  If you know anything about this possibly even rarer forma, please let me know.  I'm sure many people would be interested in growing it to preserve the genetic diversity of this species.