Phytolacca americana

Phytolacca americana, also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, or poke salad, is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae growing up to 8 ft (2.4m) in height. It has simple leaves on green to red or purplish stems and a large white taproot. The flowers are green to white, followed by purple to almost black berries which are a food source for songbirds such as gray catbird, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, and brown thrasher, as well as other birds and some small animals (i.e., to species that are unaffected by its mammalian toxins). Pokeweed is native to eastern North America, the Midwest, and the Gulf Coast, with more scattered populations in the far West. It is also naturalized in parts of Europe and Asia. It is considered a pest species by farmers. Additionally, pokeweed poses a danger to human and animal populations via poisoning; with toxicity levels increasing as the plant matures, and with poisonous fruit. The young leaves can be made edible by proper cooking. It is used as an ornamental in horticulture, and it provokes interest for the variety of its natural products (toxins and other classes), for its ecological role, its historical role in traditional medicine, and for some utility in biomedical research (e.g., in studies of pokeweed mitogen). In the wild, it is easily found growing in pastures, recently cleared areas, and woodland openings, edge habitats such as along fencerows, and in wastelands. Pokeweed is a member of the Phytolaccaceae, or broader pokeweed family, and is a native herbaceous perennial plant, that is large, growing up to 8 feet (2 meters) in height. One to several branches grow from the crown of a thick, white, fleshy taproot, each a 'stout, smooth, green to somewhat purplish stem;' with simple, entire leaves with long petioles alternately arranged along the stem. Pokeweeds reproduce only by their seeds (large glossy black, and lens-shaped), contained in a fleshy, 10-celled, purple-to-near-black berry with crimson juice. The flowers are perfect, radially symmetric, white or green, with 4-5 sepals and no petals. The flowers develop in elongated clusters termed racemes. The seeds have a long viability and can germinate after many years in the soil. Birds are unaffected by the natural chemicals contained in the berries (see below), and eat them, dispersing the seeds. Seed are also found in commercial seed (e.g., vegetable seed packets). The berries are reported to be a good food source for songbirds and other bird species and small animals unaffected by its toxins. Distribution via birds is thought to account for the appearance of isolated plants in areas that had otherwise not been populated by pokeweed. P. americana or pokeweed is known as pokeberry, poke root, Virginia poke (or simply poke), pigeonberry, inkberry, redweed or red ink plant. When used in Chinese medicine, it is called chuíxù shānglù (垂序商陸). The plant and its properly-cooked leaves are also called poke sallet or more commonly poke salad, sometimes spelled polk salad. All parts of the plant are toxic and pose risks to human and mammalian health. In summary, the poisonous principles are found in highest concentrations in the rootstock, then in leaves and stems and then in the ripe fruit. The plant generally gets more toxic with maturity, with the exception of the berries (which have significant toxicity even while green). Children may be attracted by clusters of berries. Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) note that