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Do not confuse with unrelated similar-named poke milkweed Asclepias exaltata.
Part of pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae.
Native to eastern 🇨🇦 Canada, most of the 🇺🇸 USA, and probably some of 🇲🇽 México. Now widely scattered. 🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48) (color key). Invasive > California
Uses by native peoples(Ethnobotany database)
☠︎ Poisonous[?] to 👥︎ humans (leaves, berries, and roots). Tell your 🚼︎ kids not to eat it — they may be attracted to the 🍇︎ berries. An important food source for 🐦︎ songbirds and other 🐢︎🐇︎🐜︎ animals immune to the toxin in its seeds.
Farmers consider this plant to be a weed.
The 🇺🇸 USA's 📄︎ Declaration of Independence is reported to have been written in fermented pokeberry juice. (Fermented to make the ink long-lasting.)
Quite striking for its red stems, white flower clusters and green then deep-purple berry clusters. 2017 seems to be a great year for pokeweed — we see it everywhere in the wild, including areas previously observed to be very sparse.
🔍︎ 🔍︎ images Discover Life Encyclopedia of Life Michigan Flora Missouri Botanical Garden Missouri Plants Flora of North America NRCS PLANTS db USFS Wikipedia
🏠︎ ⚘ ❀ flowers terrestrial ☙ herbaceous plants