Pokeweed
Phytolacca americana L.
Phytolaccaceae (Pokeweed Family)
seedlings ▲▼
young shoot emerging from rootstock in spring/summer ▲
young plant ▲
plant with flower buds ▲
purple stems on plant-- also flowers, immature fruit visible ▲
mature plants▲▼
flowers and fruit ▲▼
Pokeweed:
· herbaceous, simple perennial weed with very large tap root with age
· has oval shaped green leaves with hook on tip, purplish stems 3-8' tall
· produces drooping racemes of white flowers followed by black/purple berries
· young leaves edible for humans; mature leaves, stem, roots, fruit poisonous
· reproduces rapidly by seed spread by birds which can eat fruit
· found in cultivated fields, pastures, waste areas, wild areas; is somewhat glyphosate-tolerant