A member of the barberryfamily with typical leaves reminiscent of a duck's foot, hence the name shield-shaped foot leaf or duck's foot. The shield-shaped, shiny blue-green leaves, up to 40 cm in diameter, have between seven and nine lobes, which are reminiscent of a duck's foot.
The yellow, elongated fruit, up to 5.5 cm in size, is edible and is also known as wild lime. Apart from the fruit, all other parts of the plant are poisonous.
Podophyllum is mainly known for its toxic resin: the dried rhizome and the attached roots contain the toxic footleaf resin(podophyllin; podophyllotoxin). This only forms after the roots have dried, the toxicity increases during storage and reaches its highest toxicity after 2 years. Podophyllin has a cytostatic, antimycotic and virusstatic effect. In medicine it is used in particular for the treatment of condylomas.
In folk medicine, the root was used both as a laxative and to treat worm infestations, and in high doses also for suicide.