Pokeweed

Description:

Beautiful purple stems & berries; herbaceous perennial; 6 to 8 feet tall; simple leaves on green to purplish stems; large white taproot hard to dig out whole so comes back;. The flowers are green to white, followed by purple to almost black berries

Habitat:

Urban backyard along fencerow

Notes:

berries 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; toxic to humans