May apple

an American plant, Podophyllum peltatum, of the barberry family, bearing an edible, yellowish, egg-shaped fruit.

the fruit itself.

Origin of May apple

An Americanism dating back to 1725–35

From the tincture of the root (rhizomes) of may-apple (Podophyllum peltatum).

Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I |Arnold Cooley
His daughter smiled, and asked him some idle question about the May-apple and the Judas-tree.

Audrey |Mary Johnston
And when he came to the May-apple he wrote that the sweetish fruit was “eaten by pigs and boys.”

Some Spring Days in Iowa |Frederick John Lazell
She was terribly stiff and she had slept near a bed of May-apple blossoms.

More Tish |Mary Roberts Rinehart

She use to bile down the roots from may-apple, snake root and blood root, and make her medicine.

Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States |Work Projects Administration

May apple

an American berberidaceous plant, Podophyllum peltatum, with edible yellowish egg-shaped fruit

the fruit of this plant