This cache is a plastic wide-mouthed jar located in beautiful Lake D’Arbonne State Park; day passes are $3 per person, allowing access between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Streams cut through this area, so here is some advice on the approach to the cache. Park and enter the Cypress Bend Trail between campsites #50 and #52. Go 40 feet beyond the footbridge (where a huge tree has fallen across the trail) & leave the trail, heading uphill. The cache tree can be spotted looking north from the top of the hill.
The mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, also known as hog-apple, umbrella plant, or wild lemon, is a perennial woodland herb native to the eastern United States and southern Canada. It spreads by rhizomes (horizontal underground stems) extending up to six feet long. In early spring, the rhizome sends up shoots bearing one or two circular leaves, which are folded up like an umbrella. The leaf unfurls to a diameter of 8-10”, and the stem, which joins it in the center like an umbrella’s handle, grows to a height of 1-2 feet. Each leaf has 5-7 deeply cut lobes, which are notched on the end to create an elongated heart-shape. Upon approaching the cache during the growing season, you’ll be treated to a view of drifts of mayapples stretching downhill to the stream, their umbrella-like leaves gently swaying en masse in the breeze.
The conspicuous leaves conceal the secretive blossoms, making them the perfect quest for geocachers—after all, for us, the thrill of the hunt only heightens the triumph of discovery. The “hint” is that most of the season’s plants will bear only one leaf—these plants are juveniles. Mature plants send out two leaves and these are the only plants which flower. In late March to early April, a single flower stalk emerges directly from the fork between the two leaf stalks. From it opens one nodding, cup-shaped flower with six waxy white petals, 1½” across. To examine it, lift the leaves gently, to avoid snapping the succulent stem. After pollination by bumblebees, the flower falls off, and the fruit develops. The fruit is a green lemon-shaped berry, 1-2” long, which by late summer ripens to yellow. The fragrant, fully ripe fruit is edible in moderation, and has a lemony flavor; it can be eaten raw or used for jam or jelly. It is sought after by wildlife such as squirrels, raccoons, and box turtles.
Although the ripe fruit is edible, all other parts of the plant (including green fruit) are extremely toxic.
Congratulations to the rollingcacher duo, who were FTF on April 4, 2009!