Is this a plant or a weed?

Question

A co-worker brought in this picture today to see if we could identify whether this plant is a weed. It's very colorful and unique. Your input is appreciated!

S137 · Answer

I'm pretty sure that is pokeweed. There is lots of conflicting information online about it. The berries make good food for birds. Some people eat parts of the plant. Others say is it poisonous. The American Cancer Society has a page on it: http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/herbsvitaminsandminerals/pokeweed

Pat Jacques · Answer

That is it! Thank you for identifying. What an interesting plant.

The Garden Frog with C Renee · Answer

Pokeweed berries will make you very sick! The berries will stain anything that comes in contact. Yes, the birds love them but if the berries fall on the ground they will reseed and you will be hacking and pulling pokeweeds for years. I live in the South and I have seen them almost 9 feet tall! You do not want them anywhere near your yard or gardens~ I have been killing them now for 5 years because seeds can be dormant for years so beware!

Pat Jacques · Answer

Thanks, C Renee. I will share your experience with my co-worker.

S137 · Answer

For what it's worth, my goats do not eat it.

Arizona Smith · Answer

It is pokeweed, it is said the American indians used the berries for die.

Bev · Answer

It is absolutely pokeweed. It is poisonous to dogs and horses. It is loved by the birds, but reseeds so quickly! I had only one plant three years ago and now I have dozens on my half acre.

Vickie Lanham · Answer

My husband's aunt used to eat it . She change the cooking water 4 or 5 times as it cooks,like you do with some greens. I wouldn't eat it .

Peg · Answer

Pokeweed is considered a weed and pest. Yes, the birds love to eat the berries, then they drop the seeds all over, hence, new plants pop up all over. You'll find them growing under bigger trees or areas where birds hang out. They do grow fast and big, and once too big, hard to get rid of since it grows a stubborn root. As kids we used the berries as ink along with other plants to 'color with nature'.

Rha208746 · Answer

Poke can be eaten, I have made this many times.  When it is young, cook it in water and salt and rinse, and repeat, about 4 times,, then we put it in scrambled eggs. My husband loved it

Phillip Williams · Answer

Here's a quick clip from an online source:
Phytolacca americana (American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke) is used as a folk medicine and as food, although all parts of it must be considered toxic unless, as folk recipes claim, it is 'properly prepared'. The root is never eaten and cannot be made edible.[13] Poke salad ('poke salat') is considered part of traditional southern U.S. cuisine, where it is cooked three times in three changes of boiling water to remove some of the harmful components.[14] Toxic constituents which have been identified include the alkaloids phytolaccine and phytolaccotoxin, as well as a glycoprotein.[

Lynn · Answer

Looks like pokeweed to me. My son in law planted it in a purposely planned garden area and the birds love it. It's only a weed if you don't want it! With water becoming an ever increasingly scarce resource, all of these 'natives' are getting more popular!

Carol White · Answer

Definitely Pokeweed. Makes a great fabric dye.

Celia Albert · Answer

I grew up out on a lake in N. Alabama, and this grew all up and down the roads. It is pokeweed and I heard that some of the older country people would eat it, although I never have. The berries turn dark purple and I heard the Indians used the juice as a dye.

Theresa Morris · Answer

My step dad used to cut the young stalk into small pieces, roll in flour, and fry. Today, I fight to keep it out of my flower beds!

Julie Dever · Answer

It attracts birds that also eat tomato hornworms and other insects in the garden....Usually only re-seeds in the same area as the mother plant. Requires little attention.

CindyD · Answer

We find them smashed all over the sidewalk, maybe dropped by the birds, and the stain lasts quite a while, especially when you get it on your shoe and track it all over ;-)

Catsrule · Answer

Treat it as an invasive weed. The roots are long and thick, make sure you dig it all out.

Annette · Answer

It is Poke. The berries are poisonous. The leaves are very editable. My family has eaten poke since for ever. The stems does get hard if it gets to tall but the leaves are still editable. First boil it. This removes all poisons out of the poke. Now roll it in whipped egg and cornmeal. Next fry it. I like using bacon grease . This is very very good. It is very high in vitamin K . So any on blood thinners will need to watch how much they eat.

Laura · Answer

My philosophy is, no matter what it is, if you don't want it where it growing, its a weed.

Pat Jacques · Answer

Thanks everyone for your input.

Bobbie larsen · Answer

Is this where the song 'Poke Salad Annie' came from? LOL

Darlene F · Answer

WEED birds eat the berries then poop purple nasty drops on your laundry and car!!!

Kim Truehart · Answer

looks like an elderberry bush to me...,there was 1 rather large one in a garden bed at the house we bought 9 yrs ago.....9 yrs later they are popping up EVERYWHERE...and i DO mean everywhere,several have popped up in the middle of our veggie garden this yr. and all along the edges of our property.The birds do love the berries but end up pooping out the seeds...It doesn't take much for them to take root & create a great thick screen between you & your neighbor.The bushes/trees grow quickly & are quite pretty,small white-ish flowers turn to dark reddish-purple berries that do stain anything they come into contact with. My bf had a white van he parked in the driveway and one day my daughter(,then about 13 yrs old) and a friend decided to have a berry fight,after being told to leave them alone because they stain.....long story short,they ended up washing the van with clorox clean up and rubber gloves to get the stains off. The verries do make a great dye for paper and/or cloth.

Nancy Sauer · Answer

It is Poke salad. It can be cleaned, and prepared by boiling. Try it in an Omelet. It is tasty. The pic shows it in full area of growth. When It comes up in the spring, pick the small leaves for eating. It is found in the woods in Ala. and I was told my many that if you ate it , it was a good thing for health and vigor.

Sondra · Answer

I have some growing in a backyard corner. First time I've seen them. Fast growing, too. I like the looks of them so I'll not cut them down. Nor, will I eat any of the Poke.

Srogers · Answer

It is poke weed. While all parts of the mature plant are poisonous, the first young shoots that emerge in spring are edible when cooked. My mom ate poke root when she was little (thought it looked like potato) and she almost died. http://extension.psu.edu/pests/weeds/weed-id/pokeweed

Srogers · Answer

It is poke weed. While all parts of the mature plant are poisonous, the first young shoots that emerge in spring are edible when cooked. My mom ate poke root when she was little (thought it looked like potato) and she almost died. http://extension.psu.edu/pests/weeds/weed-id/pokeweed

Mary · Answer

my folks always cooked: boiled the 'Poke Salat ' at least 3 times, boil, rinse x3...bitterness ? poisons ?

Elizabeth Poteat · Answer

My Mother and my husband thought there was nothing like Polk Salat and ate it with boiled eggs. Thanks but I wouldn't touch it.

Is this a plant or a weed?

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Is this a plant or a weed?

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