Poke - Phytolacca Americana: Edible & Medicinal Uses of America's Favourite Poisonous Plant

Poke (Phytolacca americana) isn’t found in Haliburton, Ontario, but it can be found to our south. It is very common the further south you go in North America. I’ve covered many plants in my immediate area and will continue to do so, but I’m also expanding our content to farther reaches of Ontario and eventually the entire great lakes region. Especially when it comes to popular forages like American pokeweed.

This native plant can be found on disturbed soils including around neighborhood lawns and flowerbeds. And also around the edges of fields and woods.

If you plan to join the pokeweed fan club, it’s easiest to identify the mature plant in Autumn and then check the dried up plant in the spring for the shoots.

Edible Uses of Poke

*Poke (Phytolacca americana) purple stem*

The first rule of poke is to never eat this plant raw. The agreed upon edible part is only the youngest leaves and stems when boiled repeatedly. Despite the work involved, and despite the plant being otherwise highly poisonous, it’s a well loved traditional potherb. Seeds were even taken over to Europe so it could be cultivated in gardens. In some regions, you may find the spring greens in stores in like you would fiddleheads up here in the north.

To prepare these “shoots” and young unfolding leaves, harvest the young unbranched greens, up to about 6-8 inches long, before the plant is flowering. These shouldn’t have any reddish streaks on them. Be careful not to harvest any of the root; slicing the greens off a few inches above the soil is recommended. The root, seeds, older greens and any part that has a reddish or purplish hue are poisonous.

Boil the young greens 10 minutes, dump the water, repeat if needed until all bitterness is removed (else explosive diarrhea!) They are traditionally fried, but also fine simmered. You can add poke to any dish you might add asparagus too, like omelets or quiche.

You can freeze or can prepared greens. The shoots can be boiled, peeled and pickled as well.

You can grow poke indoors. You can grow it fresh in a container in winter by digging up a plant in autumn and keeping it moist in a dark, warm room.

People argue over the edibility of the berries, some folks eat them after removing the seeds. But they aren’t typically considered palatable.

Pokeweed is not a plant for beginners and it’s helpful to be properly introduced to this plant by an experienced poke forager. I recommend a hands-on teaching experience to introduce any popular forage that requires careful preparation.

Medicinal Uses of Poke

Poke is primarily said to support these body systems:

Endocrine
Integumentary
Lymphatic
Respiratory

Medicinal tags include Alterative, Anodyne, Anticatarrhal, Antirheumatic, Emetic, Laxative and Purgative. See Medicinal tag key for more information.

Common usage is the dried root or berries used in very small doses for rheumatism, arthritis, with a similar effect as cortisone. This plant should only be used under supervision of an experienced herbalist. They may combine it with other plant medicines, like black cohosh or prickly ash. The safe dose is exceptionally small and too much quickly turns poisonous.

To increase lymphatic drainage (due to the phytolacca) an herbalist may combine it with cleavers or blue flag. It may also be used externally for scabies and other pests, but will irritate mucosae tissues.

Alternative Uses of American Pokeweed

A pink to red to purple dye can be obtained from the berries. Poke may be named after the Algonquin word pocan or puccoon, similar to a word for dye. It’s one of the original natural inks and sometimes gets called by the folk name Inkberry.

Growing Phytolacca Americana

Where poke is more native in Ontario and south of there, it’ll typically just show up in yards. Roaming around a typical suburban yard in say Ohio, I bet I could find at least half a dozen pokes per acre. It loves disturbed areas. And being common and poisonous, is a token reason for teaching children to be plant wise.

If intentionally planting, it prefers partial shade and moist, loamy soil. Insects like flies and bees will nectar on it, and halictini bees specifically collect the pollen. Many bird species and small mammals eat the berries, some getting a bit drugged by them.

WARNINGS

This plant is highly poisonous. It’s one of the more common plants to cause poisoning, especially in children. It can be lethal, causing respiratory paralysis.

Do not get the juice on broken skin.

Avoid if pregnant or breastfeeding.

And the Usual Cautions:

1) Most medicinal herbs, if edible, are meant to be eaten in moderation, even sparingly. Some require extra preparation. Tannins are toxic if consumed in excess. Before taking any new supplements, you should consult with a healthcare professional.

2) A vast amount of these herbs are diuretic. (See the Medicinal tags above to check if this featured herb is one of them!) Diuretics are generally safe, but they can be risky for people with other medical conditions or who take certain medications. Please consult your doctor if you have any health conditions.

3) People can be allergic or sensitive to nearly any plant; try new herbs one at a time at your own risk. For instance, saponins commonly cause stomach upset.

4) For serious medicinal use, I must recommend receiving a diagnosis and working with a reputed health care provider. I generally do not post specific treatments and dosages because I think that is best between you and your health care provider, and ideally monitored.

5) Anyone pregnant, nursing, or taking prescription drugs should talk to a health care professional before adding new food items to their diet.

6) Many plants have look-a-likes, and sometimes they are poisonous.

#ads in References

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Every book I reference that is available on Amazon is linked to with an associates link.

Disclaimer for Song of the Woods

If you require any more information or have any questions about our site’s disclaimer, please feel free to contact us by email at rachel@songofthewoods.com.

Disclaimers for Song of the Woods

All the information on this website – https://www.songofthewoods.com/ – is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Song of the Woods does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (Song of the Woods), is strictly at your own risk. Song of the Woods will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.

From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone ‘bad’.

Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their “Terms of Service” before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

Consent

By using our website, you hereby consent to our disclaimer and agree to its terms.

Update

Should we update, amend or make any changes to this document, those changes will be prominently posted here.

REFERENCES

My new favourite foraging book is Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: of Eastern and Central North America (The Sam Thayer’s Field Guides) Paperback – June 1, 2023 and this plant IS featured as one of the edible wild plants in this area. I highly recommend this guide for your bookshelves!

https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/name/Phytolacca%20americana

https://illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/pokeweed.htm

wiki/Phytolacca_americana

Stalking The Wild Asparagus (Field Guide Edition).

Edible and Medicinal Plants of Canada

The Herb Book: The Most Complete Catalog of Herbs Ever Published (Dover Cookbooks)