Indian Cucumber Root (Medeola Virginiana)

I found this little ditty to be so unique and interesting it merited its own post. 

"Several nodding, yellowish-green flowers emerge from the center of a whorl of 3 leaves at the top of a slender, woolly, unbranched stem on stalks that sometimes bend down below the leaves. The root is white, has a brittle texture, and tastes and smells somewhat like a cucumber. It was used by Indians for food, but digging it for such purposes today is not recommended because the plant is scarce (endangered in Indiana and Florida). Birds are attracted to the fruit. At the time the berries turn bluish-purple, the cluster of leaves below them turns red at the lower half."