Ohio’s edible would-be citruses – mayapple and prickly pear

LEAH CONWAY
Guest Blogger

For most of us, when we think of our beloved buckeye state, the word “tropical” doesn’t usually come to mind. We can certainly experience some heat and humidity in the summer, but tropical? As in beaches and coconuts and mangos? Not exactly. Still, Ohio may just surprise you with a little taste of the Caribbean from two of our native plants: Mayapple and eastern prickly pear cactus.

Mayapples are a common sight across the state of Ohio in mid-late spring. After a short bloom period in May – just a few days per mature plant – fruit will develop and be ripe in mid-late summer depending on location. The fruit, which is the only edible part of the plant, and which only forms on older plants with two stalks, is 1-2.5 inches long, egg-shaped, and white to pale, dull yellow. It has a soft, somewhat fleshy texture and tropical flavor, and may be eaten raw or cooked in pies or other desserts.

The seeds are best not consumed, as they, like unripe fruit, are a degree of toxic. Aside from being pleasurably edible, the podophyllin found in mayapple rhizomes is used to treat dermatological conditions such as warts and has been used for such purposes for years – even in traditional medicine by the Penobscot people. Additionally, the ethanolic extracts from mayapple have anti-microbial and anti-cancer properties. Despite this, it is not a farmed crop, and all medical usage is sourced from wild plants.

Look for these umbrella-like plants in the dappled shade of hardwood forest bottoms, but count yourself lucky if you manage to find a ripe, uneaten fruit; wildlife of all kinds love mayapple, including and especially box turtles!

We have cacti in Ohio? Yes! But just the one. Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus is the only native cactus found in Ohio. Because it prefers sunny, sandy soils, it’s scattered and uncommon (even listed as potentially threatened). It’s found mostly in the northwest portion of the state where savannas are present, or in the rocky fields of the southwest. Though it loves summer sun, it can endure the cold of our Midwestern winters with ease. To survive temps dropping below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, it reduces the amount of water in its cells to avoid freezing, and has a little help from antifreeze chemicals, too!

Both the leaves – best when young – and the fruit of this cactus are edible. The fruit, which will resemble a small lemon, is ripe after turning golden yellow in late summer or early fall, and should be heavily tinged with pink or burgundy. The fruit of the cactus pear family is known to be high in antioxidants and contain greater amounts of vitamin C than many other fruits, and also contains considerable potassium and calcium.

Additional health benefits found in an experiment with lab rats suggested “hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity” after powdered eastern prickly pear stem was suspended in water and administered to the rats once per day for seven weeks, meaning, EPP may be helpful in lowering blood glucose and both total and LDL cholesterol (Hahm et al. 2011). Other studies found significant antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects from EPP fruit extract, particularly against human cervical carcinoma (Hahm et al. 2015). As far as non-medical consumption goes, the leaves can be cooked into dishes like other vegetables, the fruit can be eaten raw or made into jam, and the seeds can be crushed and mixed into oatmeal.

Sources:

Hahm, Sahng-Wook, Jieun Park, and Yong-Suk Son. 2011. Opuntia humifusa stems lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Nutrition Research 31:6, 479-487. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027153171100090X.

Hahm, Sahng-Wook. Jieun Park, Se-Yeong Oh, Chul-Won Lee, Kun-Young Park, Hyunggee Kim, and Yong-Suk Son. 2015. Anticancer Properties of Extracts from Opuntia humifusa Against Human Cervical Carcinoma Cells. Journal of Medicinal Food 18:1, 31-34 https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jmf.2013.3096.