Grant: Engage Grants Program

May-apple (Podophyllum peltatum) is a native plant with great horticultural potential. It forms a dominant groundcover in the shady understory forest habitats of parts of Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia, and in areas of the eastern United States. It is also harvested in the wild by the pharmaceutical industry to extract anticancer lignan derivatives. Because propogation from seeds is difficult, may-apple has been largely overlooked by the plant nursery industry. This project aims to develop, in partnership with a local plant nursery, a cost-efficient technological protocol to propagate may-apple using fragments of rhizomes. Experimental trials using plant hormones and inoculation with beneficial fungi will be conducted in a controlled polyhouse environment. Microscopy studies will examine the root formation and development of symbioses with fungi (mycorrhiza) from these experimental trials. May-apple has the potential to be a valuable product in the lucrative ornamental plant industry, and can also be used in forest restoration projects. Increased production would also offer an environmentally sustainable and economic source of the plant for the pharmaceutical industry.