American Pokeweed

Description:

The pinkish hue of the stems on this flowering shoot will darken to magenta as the berries develop. Amazingly, you can see the tiny green nodules that will become berries. This is frequently a troublesome weed with poisonous berries and roots, although emerging shoots can be gathered before the pink color appears, cooked, and eaten as greens. The berry juice was used as a dye by the early colonists and to improve cheap wine. See the developing berries on this specimen here: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/437...

Habitat:

Native Distribution: Ontario to southern Quebec, New England, and New York; south to Florida; west to Texas and Mexico; north to Minnesota. Native Habitat: Open woods, damp thickets, clearings, roadsides.

Notes:

Spotted on the bank of a wooded detention/retention pond in an office building complex in Kennesaw, GA