Phytolacca americana

Phytolacca americana, also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, pokeberry, dragonberries, pigeonberry weed, and inkberry, is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae. This pokeweed grows 1 to 3 metres. It has simple leaves on green to red or purplish stems and a large white taproot. The flowers are green to white, followed by berries which ripen through red to purple to almost black 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 non-avian animals.

Description

Pokeweed is a member of the family Phytolaccaceae, and is a large herbaceous perennial plant, The seeds have long viability, able to germinate after many years in the soil. Morphology Plant Type: Perennial herbaceous plant which can reach a height of but is usually . The plant must be a few years old before the root grows large enough to support this size. The stem is usually red late in the season. There is an upright, erect central stem early in the season, which changes to a spreading, horizontal form later with the weight of the berries. The plant dies back to the roots each winter. The stem has a chambered pith. Leaves: The leaves are alternate with coarse texture with moderate porosity. Leaves can reach in length. Each leaf is entire. Leaves are medium green and smooth, with a distinct odor that many characterize as unpleasant. Flowers: The flowers have 5 regular parts with upright stamens and are up to wide. They have white petal-like sepals without true petals, on white pedicels and peduncles in an upright or drooping raceme, which darken as the plant fruits. Blooms first appear in early summer and continue into early fall. Fruit: A shiny dark purple berry held in racemose clusters on pink pedicels with a pink peduncle. Pedicels without berries have a distinctive rounded five part calyx. Fruits are round with a flat indented top and bottom. Immature berries are green, turning white and then blackish purple. Root: Thick central taproot which grows deep and spreads horizontally. Rapid growth. Tan cortex, white pulp, moderate number of rootlets. Transversely cut root slices show concentric rings. No nitrogen fixation ability. Chemistry The entire pokeweed plant contains triterpenes such as phytolaccagenin, jaligonic acid, phytolaccagenic acid (phytolaccinic acid), , and (in the berries), as well as the saponins phytolaccasides A, B, D, E, and G, and phytolaccasaponins B, E, and G (in the roots). The roots also contain other triterpenoids such as oleanolic acid, α-spinasterol and its glucoside, α-spinasteryl-β-D-glucoside, and a palmityl-derivative, 6-palmytityl-α-spinasteryl-6-D-glucoside, as well as a similarly functionalized stigmasterol derivative, 6-palmityl-Δ7-stigmasterol-Δ-D-glucoside. The leaves contain a number of common flavonols. Pokeweed also contains lectins, such as pokeweed mitogen. ==Common names==

Common names

Phytolacca americana or pokeweed is also known as pokeberry, poke root, pigeonberry, As food, it is called poke sallet, or more commonly poke salad, sometimes spelled polk salad. For example, used in Tony Joe White's 1968 song "Polk Salad Annie": {{poem quote| Down there we have a plant that grows out in the woods, and the fields And it looks somethin' like a turnip green Everybody calls it polk salad Now that's polk salad == Distribution and habitat ==

Distribution and habitat

Pokeweed is native to eastern North America, the Midwest, the Gulf Coast, and the West Coast of the US. It is an introduced weed in Japan. == Ecology ==

Ecology

Birds are unaffected by the poisons in the berries, Distribution via birds is thought to account for the appearance of isolated plants in areas otherwise free from pokeweed. Pokeweed is sometimes used as a food source by black bears. Pokeweed is used as a sometime food source by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia). == Toxicity ==

Toxicity

All parts of the plant can be toxic and pose risks to human and mammalian health. Toxins are found in highest concentration in the rootstock, then leaves and stems, then the ripe fruit. Symptoms and response to poisoning Owen states: ==Uses==

Uses

Horticulture Some pokeweeds are grown as ornamental plants, mainly for their attractive berries. A number of cultivars have been selected for larger fruit panicles. Folk and alternative medicine Owen notes that "Indians and early settlers used the root in poultices and certain drugs for skin diseases and rheumatism." Phytolacca extract was advertised as a prescription weight loss drug in the 1890s. Pokeweed is promoted in alternative medicine as a dietary supplement intended to treat a wide range of maladies including mumps, arthritis and various skin conditions. Food uses Poke is a traditional southern Appalachian food. The leaves and stems of young plants can be eaten, but must be cooked by boiling two or more times with the water drained and replaced each time. A 1917 article on edible weeds stated that pokeweed shoots were popular in Pennsylvania, "tied in small bundles, boiled the same way as asparagus, and served with cream sauce or melted butter." The roots are poisonous, as are mature leaves and stems. Nutrition A 100g serving of pokeweed contains 20 calories and 3.1 grams of carbohydrates, 1.6 grams of sugars, 1.5 grams of dietary fiber, 0.4 grams of fat, 2.3 grams of protein, and is a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin C, vitamin K, and manganese. It contains low levels of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. Other uses Plant toxins from Phytolacca are being explored as a means to control zebra mussels. The toxic extract of ripe pokeweed berries can be processed to yield a pink dye. Early European settlers to North America would procure a fine red dye from the plant's roots. During the middle of the 19th century wine often was coloured with juice from pokeberries. Phytolacca contains lectins known as Pokeweed mitogen which are used to stimulate B-cell proliferation which is useful for B-cell assays, immunodeficiency diagnostic test, and immunotherapy. ==Cultural significance==

Cultural significance

In music A 1969 hit written and performed by Tony Joe White, "Polk Salad Annie", is about poke sallet, the cooked greens-like dish made from pokeweed. The lyrics include: And in the fields looks somethin' like a turnip green And everybody calls it polk salad, polk salad Elvis Presley covered the song. In local Southern festivals Poke salad festivals are held annually in several small southern towns, though often these celebrations are only remotely related to the plant as food or medicine (see and individual festival references below). Locations include: • Toccoa, Georgia • Arab, Alabama • Blanchard, Louisiana • Harlan, Kentucky In Oklahoma, poke salad may be added to the annual wild onion dinners. ==References==