This weed is highly poisonous

Q. Is this a weed, or a fruit-bearing plant? Is it edible by humans? Birds?

Kathryn from Canfield

A. Kathryn brought in a weed over 3 feet tall to the office with long, green leaves, a purple stem and lots of green berries. It was pokeweed! Common pokeweed (Phytolacca Americana) is a common weed of North America.

This plant can get up to 10 feet tall under the right conditions.

The plant grows quickly, most of the time emerging from a seed dropped by a bird or other animal that feasted on the berries it produces.

It prefers to grow in rich soils, so it will thrive and grow taller than a foot in your garden before you know it.

It is commonly seen along roadways, under power lines, in farm fence rows and along the edge of farm fields.

The leaves are generally 8-10 inches long, but can get up to 20 inches long in perfect growing conditions. The leaves are oblong, and generally a pale green color.

The bloom starts as a green/white spike that turns down like a goose neck with a purple stem.

The berries turn to green before ripening to a deep, dark purple. The berries are only the size of a pea, but are similar to a bunch of grapes with slightly more spacing between each one.

The berries are attractive to those who do not know the toxic nature of the plant.

Do not squash the berries in your hands, as the toxin can be easily absorbed into the skin.

This plant contains toxins. All parts of the plant are poisonous, with the highest concentration of the poisons being in the roots.

Knowing that, early Americans ate the leaves. But they cooked them, using the early spring leaves.

Without proper knowledge of the process, do not try this at home and never, ever eat raw pokeweed leaves.

Pokeweed is an annual, so simple cultivation will do the trick to get rid of it.

Pulling it out is a simple solution. It will be a great addition to the compost pile.

For more information on pokeweed, visit go.osu.edu/pokeweed.

Eric Barrett is OSU Extension educator for agriculture and natural resources in Mahoning County. Call the office hotline at 330-533-5538 to submit your questions. Regular clinic hours are 9 a.m. to noon Mondays and Thursdays.