Medeola virginiana, sometimes called Cucumber Root or Indian Cucumber-root, is in bloom in the woodlands around Cohasset right now. As the name implies, the small root is crunchy and white and tastes like cucumber — but you kill the plant when you dig it up for the root, so I stopped foraging for it many years ago.
The flower is tiny, maybe a centimeter or two across. It doesn’t look like much until you look at it through a magnifier:
![Close up of a tiny flower, with a deep red pistil that terminates in three parts that are longer than the petals, and with greenish-yellow petals that curl back from the ovary.](https://www.danielharper.org/yauu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_8740-1024x1024.jpeg)
![Same flower as previous photo, but a side view.](https://www.danielharper.org/yauu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_8735-1-1024x1024.jpeg)