Description
Pokeweed is a plant that grows up to 9 feet tall. The stems are green or pinkish red and it has elliptic leaves that can be up to 3 feet in length. It produces several large clusters of purple-black berries in late spring. Each berry is 1/4 inch wide.
Where To Find
Pokeweed thrives in America, Central America, and also the Caribbean. It is found in shady areas, woods, fields, gardens, roadsides and waste places.
What And How To Eat
The edible parts are the young shoots, young leaves and berry juice. Boil the shoots and leaves twice or thrice and change the water each time. The fruits should be boiled before eating. The boiled berry juice can be made into jam.
Warning: All parts of pokeweed are poisonous to humans if eaten raw. Do not eat the roots cooked or not. Also, harvest only pokeweed when it is below 1 feet tall and red is not showing in the plant.
Medicinal Use
Pokeweed remedies should be used with caution and supervised by a qualified practitioner. Internally, it is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, mumps, tonsillitis, bronchitis, chronic catarrh and so on. Poultice made from the fresh root is used for bruises, rheumatic pains, sprains and swellings. Juice or tea from the fruit is used for sore skin, hemorrhoids and dysentery.