This North American woodland plant appears in the spring with white flowers hiding under the leaves. There are six species in the genus, from the family Berberidaceae, the remainder being found in Asia. Described originally in 1700 as Anapodophyllum canadense Morini by Tournefort, the genus name (‘duck’s foot leaf’) refers to the leaf shape. It was cultivated by the English botanist, John Ray (1627-1705), in his garden. Lindley (1838) describes the rhizome as being a ‘very sure and active cathartic [a purgative]’, but that the leaves are poisonous and the whole plant narcotic. Austin (2004) reports that the ripe fruits were eaten by the Cherokee, Ojibwa, Iroquis and others, but that the roots are highly poisonous and were used to commit suicide, and in smaller doses as a purgative. Even the fruits can be poisonous. Extracts from the roots were used by the Cherokee to treat intestinal worms – in a dose which was more poisonous to the latter than the patient. The Menomini used it as an insecticide and the Penobscot to cure warts.
An extract of the roots, podophyllotoxin, is still used topically to treat venereal warts caused by the Human Papilloma virus; the semi-synthetic derivatives etoposide and teniposide, valuable treatments for various cancers, have been produced from it. Podophyllotoxin’s mode of action is to stop cell division by binding to tubulin, so preventing microtubule formation in the metaphase stage of cell division. The derivatives bind to topoisomerase stopping the unwinding and replication of DNA. The sap can be absorbed through the skin, causing violent vomiting in gardeners who handle it without gloves.
