# What is this plant?  Is it poisonous???  **PIC**



## jmsim93 (Sep 4, 2011)

I have this everywhere on our property.  I do not have a plant book and wouldn't know where to start in identifying it.  Thought some the experts on here could help?


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## Squirrelgirl88 (Sep 4, 2011)

Around here we call it poke weed. 

The pokeweeds, also known as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot, poke sallet,[3][4][5] polk salad[6], polk salat, polk sallet, inkberry or omb, comprise the genus Phytolacca, perennial plants native to North America, South America, East Asia and New Zealand. The generic name is derived from the Greek word φυτόν (phytos), meaning "plant," and the Latin word lacca, a red dye.[7] Pokeweed contains phytolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin, *which are poisonous to mammals*. However, the berries are eaten by birds, which are not affected by the toxin because the small seeds with very hard outer shells remain intact in the digestive system and are eliminated whole


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## elevan (Sep 4, 2011)

Yep. Poke weed.  I have one spot of it in my field that I keep trying to eradicate. It's poisonous and while your goats can eat small amounts of it without problem (mine have) I would get rid of it...especially if you have children who may go into the area.


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## currycomb (Sep 4, 2011)

before pke makes berries, it is highly prized as a salad green for humans. i fried some for a friend, said her son loved it, and he did, scarfed up every bit of it. once it makes berries, don't know of any animals that put it on their must eat list.


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## ChksontheRun (Sep 4, 2011)

We have a little of it and our goats have eaten it in very small amounts with no difficulty.  Not particularly hardy, so once they ate it, it hasn't come back.


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## freemotion (Sep 4, 2011)

The greens are safest eaten in the spring when they are less than 8" tall, and should be cooked with 2-3 changes of water.  

My goats will eat a bit of it early on but not much.  I don't worry about it.  I was taught as a child not to eat berries unless a parent ok'd it first, and learned rather young to identify many edible plants.  I never ate anything poisonous.  The world....and probably your lawn....is full of poisonous plants.  So teaching your kids is rather important.  Many decorative plants are rather poisonous, like lily of the valley and yew, both very common in landscapings.  In this area, poke is EVERYWHERE.

What I'm trying to say is....don't lose sleep over pokeweed!


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## Goatherd (Sep 5, 2011)

> don't lose sleep over pokeweed!


I'm gettin' me a t-shirt with this on it!


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## elevan (Sep 5, 2011)

jmsim93 said:
			
		

> http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/uploads/3636_100_4991.jpg
> 
> 
> I have this everywhere on our property.  I do not have a plant book and wouldn't know where to start in identifying it.  Thought some the experts on here could help?


Mayapple, bloodroot, *pokeweed*, nightshade and  hellebore are other
     alkaloidal plants. _They are rarely  eaten except when animals are
     starving for better  feed._ Deaths from alkaloidal plants usually result
     from severe digestive disturbances, pain and nervous symptoms. Animals
     usually die in convulsions.


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## aggieterpkatie (Sep 5, 2011)

We have it now, mainly in flowerbeds. I just chopped a big plant with a shovel the other day and water just poured right out of the stalk.  When I was growing up we had it ALL OVER our pasture.  None of the animals touched it.  My sister and I used to use the berries to dye our white sneakers.


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## jmsim93 (Sep 5, 2011)

My DH cleared it out yesterday!!!    He knows how to make me happy!!!!


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## elevan (Sep 5, 2011)

jmsim93 said:
			
		

> My DH cleared it out yesterday!!!    He knows how to make me happy!!!!


Way to go DH!!

but...it'll come back...


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## treeclimber233 (Sep 6, 2011)

I ate poke a lot when I was younger.  My neighbor told me he knew "old folks" that used polk berries for arthritis. Polkberries are good to use as wormer for chickens.  My chickens love pokeberries. I don't know why it is listed as a poisonous plant and everyone is scared to have it around.  Tomato plants are poisonous too but every garden I see has a bunch of them planted.  Milkweed is also poisonous and is very abundunt.  Most poisonous plants are bitter tasting and animals will avoid eating it.  My GP puppy thought it was the greatest thing in the world to play with and really tore my plants up in his field.  Never fear it will be back next year because if you do not remove the root it will come back bigger and better next year.


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## elevan (Sep 6, 2011)

The stem of tomato plants is what is poisonous...eaten in quantity but it is so nasty tasty who would eat a lot of it?
Milkweed too is poisonous when eaten in quantity...small amounts aren't that harmful.

The biggest thing to remember with poisonous plants like any plant is that INDIVIDUAL people or animals can have very different reactions.  It is always best to be cautious.


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