They have 8 petals. A few years ago I trimmed 2 off of one bloom, posted it here, and asked if anyone could identify it. bill Lee got it without hesitation.
I recall reading in the Boy Scout Field Book (Good grief! That would have been almost 60 years ago!) that their bulbs (rhizomes) are edible but somewhat bitter. I think they are also an emetic. I haven’t tried them, but perhaps they could go with osage oranges to make a fruit salad.
After typing this I found nice websites on mayapples, too many to cite.
George
mayapples
July 9, 2011
By Linda Wallpe
Most parts of Mayapple are poisonous and should not be eaten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podophyllum_peltatum
Hope they’ve changed that Boy Scout manual.