I swear having some pokeweed in the yard was the key to why my pepper plants produced so reliably. The amount of bees that constantly hung around the pokeweed was considerable. Every blossom turned into a pepper, had to have been a 95% successful pollination rate. All the bees attracted to the area by the pokeweed would venture over to the peppers and go to town, all day every day.
Some people are saying that the berries are anti Inflammatory and good for arthritis when ingested correctly. I'm going to keep studying poke salad possibilities .
Exactly. Imagine having a medicinal plant in your back yard and not using it because you "listen to people". Do your research. Lots and lots of books on herbalism and how to use these plants. Stay informed! Knowledge is power!
I know I'm really late on responding to this. Sometimes the notifications don't always come through. Like @jessicalefay said below, its always good to do your own research. The plant does have medicinal properties, along with the toxicity that I mentioned in the video. For me its a personal preference, I have plenty of different herbs, weeds, flowers, etc., in my yard both wild and cultivated that don't have toxicity, so for me I prefer to use those instead of dealing with poke.
Potatoes are toxic, too, if we want to be technical about it. Many foods are. The availability of things like poke salad have meant nutrition and survival during hard times to many of the poverty stricken in this country. In a risk/benefit analysis, I'll keep the poke.
Yes, white potatoes are a nightshade vegetable as are peppers, eggplant & tomatoes. Some people (I am one) with RA are sensitive to the lectins in them which triggers inflammation.
I love the tender shoots sauteed / stir fried. No boiling! I haven't bought spinach or other leafy non-salad greens since I discovered poke 2 years ago. It's definitely worth the space it grows on! If harvested early and often it never becomes a tree.
The dose determines the toxicity, and all plants contain substances that will kill bugs and animals that try to eat them, so yes, choose your foods wisely - and go easy on the nightshades - tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers.
My mother picked and parboiled them because they were (still are) my favorite greens. It was quite a bit of work considering that we had plenty of money to buy store greens.
Is there a limit to how many berries to eat at once? I eat the new shoots stirfried. No boil. I tas🎉te the berries and it's not unpleasant but all this talk of toxicity makes me hesitant. I know there has to be a lot of antioxidants there with that coloring. I have frozen some to experiment with.
My great grandmother gathered poke greens. She boiled it and drained it three times. I have used the berries for dying wool. It gave me a dusty pink. Though I was using wood that still had some lanolin remaining in it. Poke dying must have a mordant added in order to set the color into the wool. Poke berry dye is not as permanent, as say black walnut hulls are, which has its own mordant!!~*
Interesting! I thought it would end up with a much darker color based on the berries. I did see a video a few years back of someone that used it to dye their yarn, but I don't remember all the details on what else they mixed in with it for mordant or the longevity of the color.
@@oneseedoneworld i suppose with a very consentrated amount of berries yes the color would probably be darker. So use a ton of berries lol!! If memory serves me correctly, I used Alum as the mordant!!~*
I dyed something with it and it turned out a bright bright pinkish purple. Very pretty but it washed right out. I didn't know you had to add something else.
I eat it every spring I'm 66, and not dead yet. I pick it when it's 5" or less tall. Wash it, bread it (corn meal, flour) fry it until crispy. All in the same day no boiling. It is very good with pinto beans and cornbread. Love it.
Poke salad is delicious! I look forward to finding it every year and try to pick as much as I can and put some up in the freezer if possible. It's better than any green you will ever find in the grocery store. You are correct it must be boiled and the water poured off three times before serving but it is worth it! Trust me on this one...
Ann do you gather it in early spring?? Thats when my family said you had to get it. I use to go with them. It was the same time of spring that the Skunk cabbage was starting to pop up.
I'll take your word for it. I'll stick to swiss chard. :) But I know a lot of people swear by it. I wish I knew someone that would come harvest them all out of my flower beds and garden. Would save me a lot of weeding!
@@cindybarton8562 we like to gather it any time of year when it still looks like it’s not too old or tough; preferably when the leaves have a pretty green color. My elderly neighbor told me many years ago she would cook her leaves in water until done & tender, then pour off the water. Then put the cooked leavers in her iron skillet with her seasonings. I grew up eating this every spring. As a child it was the only green I like. In the final cooking stage, scrambled eggs would be added & all was eaten with fresh cornbread! Yumm!
I’ve read that the usage for berries is for pain relief. The seeds are toxic, so you don’t crunch them, spit them out. So many ppl have said this on a video, that Id be willing to try them, or at least a tincture for my severe arthritis.
I have read the same, although others have had allergic reactions to even touching the plant. Always good to check first with an experienced forager, doc, or herbalist for proper usage.
After reading the same about the berries, I sampled one and over the past summer increased the number of berries I would eat to 10 at a time... with no perceived ill effects. As you shared, I did spit all of the seeds out -- they are many and tiny. By the way, I did this in Florida on a bush nearly tree sized, and again, well into the summer when toxicity is supposedly high. Not advocating/recommending to anyone else, but a year later I'm alive and well. 👍
Enjoyed the friendly and informative video. I've picked poke sallet, cooked, and eaten poke sallet. I had neighbor who did the triple boil and drain. She then lightly sauteed the sallet and mixed it with scrambled eggs. Just a note, and laughing, a gator never got my grannie 😀
I'm going to respectfully disagree with you, sir. Poke leaves and berries aren't toxic and most every fact in your video is incorrect. As long as you pick the leaves 4" and under there's no need to parboil it, and larger leaves only need a parboil because they are bitter otherwise, not because its toxic. The entire stem is edible too - cut it in 3" lengths, batter it and fry just like you would okra. The reason you dont eat the stem as it turns red is because its old and too tough to eat, not because its more toxic. The berries are totally edible in moderation. Too many will give you upset stomach. They are not tasty at all but people make wine and jelly from them because if you add enough sugar anything tastes better. Old folks swear by poke berries for rheumatism as well. Poke is the perfect example of "eat the weeds" because if you eat this invasive plant it won't be take over your yard. Cheers.
Appreciate your feedback. You mention that every fact in my video is incorrect. I am assuming you are referring to part one where I mention the toxicity of the plant and not all the additional historical items, uses for dye and ink, and migratory birds, or are you stating that is all incorrect too? Or maybe you skipped the rest of the video :) In regard to the toxicity, I appreciate your take on it, but to say they aren't toxic is scientifically incorrect. All parts of the plant contain toxic properties in varying levels (the taproot having the most). Mature stems do contain more of these toxic properties than the young shoots do. But there is plenty of documentation on illness and death caused by ingesting pokeweed.. These properties can be harmful to both humans and many herbivores. As I mentioned in the video, I personally wouldn't eat it, but I know when handled appropriately and using the correct parts of the plant, pokeweed has been used for both food and medicine over the years, and even canned pokeweed was sold in grocery stores for a time. Again, it was properly cooked beforehand. Additionally, many people may be more susceptible than others to experiencing ill effects depending on age, size, weight, and amount consumed. I do appreciate your feedback, but there is plenty of data out there available on this plant, not only on the toxicity, but also all the other historical and environmental points I brought up to support my info. Thank you for watching and commenting. Namaste!
I bought a pound of dried poke berries from a man that said he eats a little every day. He puts some in his yogurt or adds them to muffins. Now I'm afraid to eat them. I'll keep researching but I'm glad I saw your message. Thanks
I think if even indigenous, it can still be invasive if it causes harm (overgrowth choking out other plants, spreading rapidly, etc.). Although I do agree with you to a certain extent about the specific definitions. Whether aggressive or invasive, I still find it a pain on my property since I'm constantly having to dig it out of various garden and flower areas and can never keep up with it.
@@oneseedoneworld It's aggressive, but not to the point of damaging native ecosystems. It might be pushy, but if it's native to that ecosystem, it's not "invasive."
@@fairyring123 Correct. I have found that people use the word "invasive " on pretty much anything that reproduces that they don't like. From poke, to dandelions, to dock, to lambsquarter, to honeysuckle, the list is endless. Bermuda grass is invasive!
I have eaten Polk Salat leaves ever since I can remember.. it has always made my family feel better after we ate it. We usually harvest it in the spring before the shoot or stalk turns red, before they bloom and make berries. I have never talked to anyone who knows how to prepare Polk that say it made them sick or feel bad, only that it was delicious. Wash them.. bring them to a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes. Pour that water off and repeat that 2 more times.. Then fry bacon.. scramble eggs in the bacon grease.. crumble the bacon. Then add your Polk salad to the bacon, scrambled eggs, and mix it altogether in the same skillet that you cooked the bacon and eggs in. Sometimes, we grate cheese on it. It is a fine breakfast!
That does sound good. Although I'll just go with swiss chard or beet greens myself. But for those who love pokeweed, that is a great recommendation for a meal!
Well done and learned a lot. After 40 years of gardening, my first Poke weed plant was about 5 years ago in SE Michigan. I left it because it was unique then. 5 years later, I have more poke weed and do not love having this much. Time to treat it as a weed and keep it in check.
Thank you! I'm glad you found the info helpful. Poke definitely has its benefits, but it can also spread pretty quick once the berries get going. I always miss a plant or two and end up fighting with it year after year.
I just cut a bunch of pokeweed out along my fence line today, and it reminded me of a song popular when I was a kid. It's called Poke Salad Annie, by Tony Joe White. Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash did covers, but the original, from 1968, is the one I remember best.
I live and was born and raised in Alabama….I have eaten poke salat greens but not a lot….Im just not crazy about greens but what I do like is the young tender stalks PEELED and cut up and fried like okra….actually like it better than okra. Recently I tried poke salat leaves for poison oak ….since I am getting older now, seems I can get that mess now where I didnt when I was young. ….all I did was rub a leaf of it on the out break and almost immediately it stopped itching and never itched again….about day an half, blisters gone….completely dried up….barely tell I ever had it. I was amazed
Did you rub the pokeweed leaves on the poison oak outbreak? Fresh picked, or boiked first. I'm extremely allergic to what we calked poison oak, but was actually Virginia Creeper. They have five lobed leaves.
@@davidgraham2673 straight off the plant…being born and raised in the south I was amazed….never heard of it….and was amazed how well it worked for me. Virginia creep (5 leaf) as for as I know is not poisonous …. Lot of it and poison oak around my place here in Alabama
@@royhudson8416 , My brother could wade in Virginia Creeper. Me: I get it extremely easy, and very bad. It's like getting Poison Ivy as far as the itching, and tiny watery bumps that spread when you scratch. It turns out that a percentage of the population is allergic to it. In North Carolina many of us call it Poison Oak, but it's not. It's in my body now, and if I scratch an area too much, it comes back out, and I get a re-infection. I'm always very careful around the stuff after my last serious bout when I was in my thirties.
@@nancywolf3786 I covered the toxic properties that are in the plant in the video. The plants chemical makeup hasn't changed, so why would I redo the video?
My dad and his family ate poke salad he was born in 38 and they didn't have anything unless they foraged, gardened, or hunted. This plant kept them going. He boiled it 4x because that's how his mother and grandmother did it. He later didn't eat it as he got older but he always grew one plant because its was pretty and it gave him great memories when he admired it. I now let at least one grow to have a great memory of him when I'm in my garden.
Thanks for sharing that! I know my video probably came across more negative about poke than intended. I didn't realize it until all the responses I got. I know it has been an important plant for food and medicine, especially in certain parts of the US and during certain time periods. I am probably more biased, because of how many I have come up in my garden, yard, flower beds, etc. every year and I'm constantly trying to keep it at bay. So its definitely not my favorite plant. I should probably do a follow up video though that sheds a bit more positive light on it :)
@@oneseedoneworld I didn't take your video as negative. What people knew back then was much less than now. They did what they had to to eat. My dad was born in a mountain in Alabama and it was those days where if you married an Indian you were pretty much shunned so they didn't have many opportunities. When he was 17 he hitchhiked to Orlando Florida, got a job, slept in he street for a year and saved every penny to move his mother and 11 siblings down to have a better life. They didn't need to eat it then. I agree they can be a pain when they are everywhere.... I know what they look like by now even the day they pop up and pull most of them. I only leave 1 and it has to be in the very edge of my yard away from the garden. I deadhead as soon as possible so the pollinator can get the flowers but it won't fruit. You did a great job and I didn't take anything you said as negative.
@@jeaniedeveau164 Thanks so much for the feedback! Sounds like your dad had an interesting life! I wish I kept up with my poke as well as you do. I always mean to, but then go do something else instead and next time I look they're 3 feet tall and a root base the size of my arm. 😆
Hi !! I'm from Portugal , Southwest in Europe , the weather here resembles the one in California . We have so much Phytolacca americana here - poke weed and actually there isn't a tradition ( as far as I know ) of consuming it nowadays. I'm sure the elders knew best. I am quite curious so i do make use of the poke week leaves for poke sallet and the poke berries make a lovely jam.
Got an 8 footer in a full sun area that’s killing me inside…provides a natural barrier, isn’t ugly and brings colorful birds to chow on the berries, which we watch from the kitchen in the morning. This is a nice thing. what’s not nice is the endless bird crap (in fairness the cherry tree out front doesn’t help either).
I feel your pain! I have had a couple I let go (and later wished I didn't because now they come back there every year and the root system is massive. But they do look pretty in the fall, its just choosing an area that you and the birds can both enjoy without too much....crap. :)
Pokeweed is my favorite green and I've been eating it as long as I can remember but I never knew I could grow it until recently. Thank you so much for your video because now that I'm older and have mobility issues I don't get to eat it as much as I'd like. Thanks to your video maybe I can even put some in the freezer this year.
In the past, I've swallowed several berries a day ,seeds 'n all, for arthritis. Worked well for me. Don't recall getting the runs though. Everyone is different I guess.
I have been eating the Polk Berry's for arthritis since I was 28 years old. Now at 66 yo I have very little problem with arthritis. When I get a flair up,. I will eat 5-6 berries. Don't eat more than around 8 at the most. They will give you diarrhea. Don't eat or crack the seed in the berries for they'll cause diarrhea also. My grandmother passed away at 97. She used pokeberries for arthritis for many years.
A lot of people eat poke berries. They have to start with small dosages I guess and work up to several berries per day without eating the pits. It has been said that it aids in relieving pain and arthritis. Somebody needs to take a harder look at this and maybe adjust the science.
I think I'd rather just have spinach 😀But as I mentioned, I didn't grow up eating poke, so even though I think its an interesting plant, I don't particularly want to brave eating it. But I know a lot of people do and love it!
Thank you só much for this very informative video! I discovered this plant in my vegetable garden, and was intrigued by especially its beautiful, minute little flowers, so I watered it and was looking forward to what it may possibly yield ... Needless to say, after identifying it via internet, and especially after watching your video, I'll now remove it completely!
I like that you do what I do with this delicious weed! I can hardly wait for spring to start reaping the fresh shoots. I don't allow the plant to mature. As soon as I get about 6 inches of stem growth I snip. It regrows so rapidly I chop and freeze what I can't immediately eat. I do NOT boil off anything. I saute and enjoy this delicious weed with anything I fancy several times a week. Finely shedded for scrambled eggs and about an inch for stir fry, stews and soups. Avoid eating too much at once. It does give a good bulky movement. If your habit is not normally "free" that will make you uncomfortably crampy. If you make eating it habit it diminishes that tendency. The berries are not unpleasant to taste. That will be my next experiment. It must have a lot of antioxidant properties with that deep purple. If the birds love it that much it can't be all that bad. Hmm. Maybe poke lemonade.
I love this plant, because it attracts birds and I use it as a chop-and-drop plant and the huge tap root de-compacts my soil. I don't bother eating it, since it requires so much work to make safe. I totally agree with the presenter, that there are plenty of other plants to eat, without the trouble of using so much water to boil.
What effect does it have on arthritis? Does it just help manage the pain and discomfort or does it resolve the arthritis? I have seen a video recommending one Barry per day.
Had no clue this was toxic. Live in the PNW and one of these appeared in our back yard garden this season and we didn't know what it was. Now it's fully mature but the birds ignore it.
I don't know for sure, but I think only certain types of birds like them, and they're not always first choice from what I've seen with birds around here.
Pokeberry is not native to PNW so it wouldn't surprise me that the birds local to PNW would not recognize it as edible. We are in southwest Mississippi and the mockingbirds sing merrily as they line up every day for access to our pokeberry trees. I used to be afraid of this plant until I learned more about it. This year I have picked berries and made an alcohol tincture for work with fibromyalgia pain. Now I enjoy this plant for its beauty and gifts. Great video on how not to be afraid: ruclips.net/video/EO3zoL2YlC0/видео.html
(Sorry for the long comment, but it's relevant.) I didn't grow up in middle Tennessee but here we are. Not being familiar with the local flora and fauna, we didn't know that our yard was nice and chock full of toxic plants. When my son mentioned a few weeks ago that we had a lot of berries in the yard by the blackberries, I had him show me, and I tripped in the dark, and got the juice on my skin. Some things about this plant got my immediate attention: 1. The ripe berries exploded just by being barely touched. 2. Good, safe food isn't as prolific as that, maybe except for blackberries. This stuff was spreading like sin. 3. When I leaned over to look at this thing, the amount of flies and gnats swarming was a cloud. That's the first time I saw it. 4. I was wearing shorts. Ended up with berry juice on my legs and the hunch to get it off of my skin kicked in. While I didn't die from this plant, and I made ABSOLUTLEY sure to wash it off of my skin as quickly as possible, AND immediately changed my clothes, I did feel very sick for a couple of days, mainly throwing up. (I have issues with bad allergies.) We're in the late M-I-L house and she had been planting different things, but didn't tell us WHAT. Yeah. We're trying to kill it off as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. I'm sure the color of the juice makes a fantastic dye, but I'm not feeling it, nor willing to gamble with the risk. Nopenopenopetynope.
Used to be able to buy it in the grocery store already cooked but that was many years ago ("Allens" brand came in a can) Common name for the poke plant is cancer root .It has many medicinal properties .Don't touch the roots if you have a severe reaction to the berries and leaves!!The seeds are very tiny and toxic.The berries are not toxic (Poke berry wine is made from the berries)
That’s terrible. Use to play with berries as a kid doing berry juice tattoos, marks on the skin because of it dyeing properties the marks would stay for days. No adverse reactions ever.
@@sherryporsch9349 Only the tiny seeds in the berry is toxic,They have a terrible taste.People swallow them whole the seeds pass in your stool and won't hurt you.Some people swallow them whole for rheumatism (relieves pain)
I think some are more prone to allergic reactions from touching it than others. I personally have handled it without any issue, but its always good to be aware of the possibility. I do wear gloves now when removing it just to be safe, although the ones that get away from me still end up staining me with berry juice when I'm mowing. Sorry to hear you were sick from it, but glad that it wasn't anything long term.
Living on rural farms in eastern Texas as a kid, we ate poke (leaves & small stems) all the time just like one eats spinach. We didn't eat old or the large stems, nor the berries. I can't remember if we kept the cows from eating it when old. You used to be able to buy poke in cans commercially just like spinach. I haven't lived in the eastern or southern states for many decades and do not know if it can still be purchased. It was very tasty and sometimes Mom would cook it with eggs.
I think Allen Canning company, that sold canned poke greens, produced/sold their last batch in 2000. As far as I'm aware, it hasn't been available for commercial sale since then.
I found about 8 plants about 8 foot tall and i gat all the berries and i eat six a day and my joint pain is gone i keep the rest in the refrig for latter
Loved the video. Now to go out and dig up my little pokeweeds as I do every year. (sigh) Glad they're enjoyed by people; nothing goes to waste for those who have the knowledge.
@@oneseedoneworld Learned my lesson last year when I decided to find out what those tall plants with berries were. Well, I found out. Dug them up, have more this year but digging those little guys up and hope to get it sort of under control. Want to see my flowers, not pokeweed!
@@anna3036 Yes they can spread rapidly once the berries are on. I have a line of hostas along the back of my garden that was overtaken with Pokeweed. I didn't get rid of them early enough last year, so now I have twice as many to dig out. I'm always amazed at how pokeweed and other things like thistles can thrive in the worst condition, while everything else you want to grow struggles!
@@oneseedoneworld We've been planting native plants since we moved here to CT from KS. Hadn't seen the pokeweed before. We get lots of volunteer plants in our yard since we feed birds. Blackberries, a walnut tree, (I guess that was squirrels), aster, strawberries. Which we keep. Should just let the birds do the planting. Except they brought us the pokeweed. Wish they'd plant us more sunflowers; they eat those seeds!
@Anna birds bring us mulberry, pokeweed, etc. Squirrels bring us black walnut. Wind brings burdock and thistles. And I'm not sure where the tree of heaven comes from. I fight back invasive stuff throughout every season. I agree, I wish the sunflowers and other flowers I plant would spread instead. I have had luck with bee balm and bachelor button spreading, and they have helped choke out a lot of thistle areas.
i never knew this lol i always heard they were poisonous so i always whack em down with a bush axe whenever they start growing lol they grow like weeds where i’m at 😭😭 never seen em in jersey but in nc they grow everywhere ! but i think i’ll let em grow to keep the birds out of my garden now lol
I don't know if leaving them will keep birds out of your garden. Probably just give them something additional to choose from. Catbirds at my place still eat my strawberries, but can also eat pokeberry. 😀
Everyone will have a different opinion of course, but I think you can harvest 12 to 18 inches tall, but well before flowers appear. One recommendation I saw said knee high or shorter.
Hello from Alabama/8A. My grandmother used it for arthritis. We just moved into this neglected house, but I have a dog who doesn't much mess with it YET, but I'm paranoid, so I'm going to pull it. Some of it is huge, so this'll be fun. I have arm protection and good gloves, so hopefully I won't poison myself. :p
Some people do have an allergic reaction/skin irritation, however I have pulled it plenty of times without gloves. Most of the toxicity is more if taken internally when not cooked properly, so you should be fine. If yours are large, the root base is probably massive and really hard to get rid of, so you may be dealing with it for years to come. When they are young, they are fairly easy to pull out by the root, but once established, I've found its easier to keep up with them by just weed whacking the sprouts every couple of weeks. Good luck!
I just recently read another article that referred to cutting the shoots like asparagus when its young, so maybe that's what the original writer meant.
I have a plant in my yard that looks like this later in the season..except the base and the stem is very big. Does anyone know if there is another plant that looks similar to the Pokeweed???
The closest look alike would be knotweed. However knotweed would usually not have any berries on it and the leaves are somewhat different. Poke weed stems can get pretty thick especially at the base if they have the right growing conditions.
I have to disagree about calling this plant "invasive"-- I can get behind calling nonnatives invasive, but to call a native plant invasive seems to me to be wrongheaded. I can go for, "fecund" or "readily self-sows" or "will reseed where you don't want it", but the term invasive seems unfair, since that has a connotation of "must be eradicated" and "do not grow". Also, this whole thing that the plant is dangerous in the yard is way overblown, I've had to learn about it myself because I was scared of it. Here is an excellent video, which shares that there was once a commercial poke greens industry in the southern US, and you could buy it in CANS. It tells how to safely use. The leaves are 25% protein, which is extremely high. ruclips.net/video/EO3zoL2YlC0/видео.html
I recently saw another video where someone had commented that their grandmother used to make pokeberry jam and would eat a little bit every day or a few times a week and never had arthritis. Definitely something not to be overdone. I was thinking about maybe making some, that is why I am watching more videos and looking at more comments. Do you research first...
Listen I'm 81 years old,been eating poke since I can remember had some a week ago.these scare mongers don't know what they are talking about, I've consumed all parts of it,use common since boil and rinse three times then cook like turnip greens enjoy.😊
I'm an herbalist and use both the berries and root medicinally in very small doses like 1 to 3 drops of root tincture or Berry juice. The one part of the plant that is actually deadly toxic and you really do need to be careful with is the seeds. People who swallow the berries whole without chewing them usually don't have any problems. The seeds won't open in your digestive system if you haven't broken them open with your teeth or other implements. When making a juice of the berries, to be used in drop amounts you just need to be very careful not to break open any of the seeds. This is one of the plants that I view as not a poison but a very potent medicine. You definitely need to know how to use it properly, but it can be used with great benefit. Consult an herbalist.
Thank you so much for that input and information. When I first did this video, I didn't think that poke had such a strong following, and I've had all kinds of responses, most of which is anecdotal, so its nice to see some herbalist info. I'm more interested in using the berries for dying cotton and flax threads, although I know the plant has many other useful properties. I'm just not as much of a fan because I am constantly trying to keep it at bay in my garden and flower beds 😇
My dad always made sure we had Polk greens twice a year, he said it will purify the blood. We always let it get to a boil then poor of liquid off the leaves this had to be done 3 times, before cooking.
The boil 3 times process is what I have seen/read that most people do. I don't dispute its potential medicinal qualities, I just prefer plants I don't have to cook that much :)
I found some in my Aloe Vera pots, they are strong, hard to remove. Thanks for the info I’m removing them today using some gloves. Location: Los Angeles, California
I've got some beautiful huge plants as tall as 10 feet. They are especially nice this year and hanging full of fruit that many song birds including my chickens love to eat. I don't eat any plants anymore but grew up eating poke as a child and for many many years. An old man got me eating the berries when I was ten years old and I still eat a few while I'm picking them for my birds. I can't say that I've ever had any effects from eating any part of the plant good or bad. I've heard the stalks are mighty tasty, much like okra but I wouldn't know. Never had any reason to mess with the roots except to relocate a plant. I think it's a sad disservice to perpetuate the unfounded nonsense about the plants. It got a lot of people through the depression years and was once sold in cans on grocers shelves.
Not sure what you mean about unfounded nonsense. The plants do have a toxicity in them and require proper preparation (and some people have allergic reactions to just handling the plant). They have a lot of good things about them and an interesting history, but its also important to understand the toxicity properties of the plant. It would be a disservice to not share that information.
Never personally known a single person in my 62 years that has had any kind of issue with the plant. Never heard before the internet started the campaign about this wickedly deadly plant being so bad. Peanuts are deadly for real to a lot of people too. Turns out apparently, you don't let your kids have peanuts when they're growing up they will die from coming in contact with them later in life. Strange world we live in.....
@@beebop9808 I don't think there is an internet campaign. And no one said anything about it being wickedly deadly, just caution about the actual properties in the plant. Its not made up, its actual botany. I do know people who have had allergic skin reactions to handling the plant without gloves, although it has never affected me this way. I think you are taking one portion of the video to make an argument and didn't bother with all the other things I mentioned on how the plant was and is used. I personally don't bother with eating it because I have plenty of other wild plants in my yard that can be eaten that don't have toxic properties that I need to be careful with (not to mention it constantly tries to overtake many of my flower beds, and I'm tired of keeping it at bay. Mine is just one take on the plant, and its important for each person to do their own research and make their own decision on if and how they want to use any wild foraged plant. Discussing the chemical make up of a plant isn't a campaign against it.
@@oneseedoneworld My mom only boiled it 1 time. The stems do taste like asparagus. They are very good. Poke isn't too overly toxic. I recently put a video up where my goats ate a small patch of it down to the stem. I never even saw any diarrhea in the herd.
@@embassysweets8607 I know a lot of people eat it (although I wouldn't base what I eat off the goats, they eat everything, lol). Many have different ways of boiling/cooking it, and some have allergic reactions to the toxic properties in it while others don't have any at all. Its an interesting plant for sure, I would just rather eat something like purslane or burdock where I don't have to worry about it. 🙂
@@oneseedoneworld Actually, no, goats can be quite picky and they certainly won't eat everything. Mine had very distinct tastes and there were certain trees I have here they wouldn't touch and others eat till stripped, would eat some "weeds" and not touch others, etc.
An interesting plant - it would be good to know the medicinal uses of it ; I'm interested due to reactions to pharmacuticals + where I live , we have a similar shrub , which the birds like & spread . The berries cling to the stems , and all honey , must be tested for "tutin" - the toxin which even minute bits of pollen , can kill humans as easily as any farm stock that decide to have a munch on it , though I've heard the juice can be dunk , when it's filtered to remove all traces of flesh .
There is much more detailed info out there on how it was used medicinally (various journals and studies) but too much for me to cover in a quick overview video.
From most things I have read (and from responses from other commenters), I think the 3 times rule is pretty standard. That's too much work for me. I'll stick to swiss chard or spinach and only have to cook it once. :)
Just found out what this large plant was that I have growing out of my garden bed! I am going to don some gloves and try to cut it down and dig it out. I was lazy in the spring and put every plant I purchased in the bed - veggies and flowers and suspect it was in the dirt of one of the flowers I purchased, as I had filled the beds with organic miracle grow raised bed soil the last 2 years. Because the roots are so invasive I hope that it hasn't affected the other produce in there. It is sharing the bed with tomatoes, peppers, kohlrabi, eggplant, kale and soon garlic. Thanks for your video!
Good luck with removing it. While the roots will steal nutrients from the soil, it shouldn't have too much of an effect on your other plants. I have them popping up in beds all the time, and some get ahead of me, but I haven't noticed an issue with other plants around it.
Geez guy, gather young shoots and leaves. Boil and change the water a couple of times. By far the best cooked greens you ever put in your mouth. How hard is that?
Fair enough. However I can forage purslane out of my yard and eat it fresh without cooking it at all and its delicious and full of superfood nutrients. I just thought it was important to cover the phytochemicals for Pokeweed for part of the video. Didn't realize what a contested topic it is for those who enjoy the young greens :) I should probably do a follow up video on it.
@@oneseedoneworld I apologize if I came across harsh. Unintended. It's just millions of Americans looked forward to these fresh greens after slim winters. Folks didn't try to get rid of them. They felt lucky to have them. They'd put them up. If your other choices were curly dock or wild mustard, you'd agree. 🤠👍
@@ferengiprofiteer9145 No offense taken! I appreciate your comments and feedback. I randomly include wild plants that grow in my yard in videos, often because I find them interesting, enjoy the history of them, or what to share the importance of various nutrients or toxicity. Occasionally, one of these will strike a chord with viewers and I get lots of feedback and I found with Pokeweed, there are a lot of people who really enjoy it and are quite protective of it. :) I know in this video I covered more of the toxicity (and also because I struggle to keep it from spreading all over my garden and flowerbeds), so I may have come across as more negative in my views of the plant. I am actually much more interested in using the berries for dying homemade linen or thread then using it as a food source. But I also think a follow up video might be good, so I can address my negativity and show it in a more positive light. So feedback like yours and many others is always greatly appreciated!
A very medicinal plant. Toxic yes it is just like most pharmaceutical medicines if you take too much it's toxic. Just like pharmaceuticals the proper dose is key.
In most cases it shouldn't cause any issue. I do know of a couple people who had some mild allergic reactions/skin irritation, but nothing that was overly serious.
@@evafarley8074 that's what I'm wondering because I do to but and they break on my skin but nothing ever happens so I'm just wondering is it longterm effects or not at all
My intent in the video was not to spread fear. Talking about the phytochemicals in a plant for awareness was only 1 of the few items I brought up about Pokeweed. You may have skipped the part where I talked about Poke Salad that people eat, but for me personally it wasn't something I was interested in. I am doing an additional follow up video this year on Pokeweed and some of its more positive attributes. I appreciate the comment and feedback.
I swear having some pokeweed in the yard was the key to why my pepper plants produced so reliably. The amount of bees that constantly hung around the pokeweed was considerable. Every blossom turned into a pepper, had to have been a 95% successful pollination rate. All the bees attracted to the area by the pokeweed would venture over to the peppers and go to town, all day every day.
Isn't that interesting? You have a pollinating species drawn to one type of plant that increases the yield of a vegetable plant nearby.
Some people are saying that the berries are anti Inflammatory and good for arthritis when ingested correctly. I'm going to keep studying poke salad possibilities .
Don’t eat the seed.
Exactly. Imagine having a medicinal plant in your back yard and not using it because you "listen to people". Do your research. Lots and lots of books on herbalism and how to use these plants. Stay informed! Knowledge is power!
Wine from the berries for the bursitis and arthritis see Emma Dupree
I know I'm really late on responding to this. Sometimes the notifications don't always come through. Like @jessicalefay said below, its always good to do your own research. The plant does have medicinal properties, along with the toxicity that I mentioned in the video. For me its a personal preference, I have plenty of different herbs, weeds, flowers, etc., in my yard both wild and cultivated that don't have toxicity, so for me I prefer to use those instead of dealing with poke.
You eat the berry but spit out the seeds inside the berry@@michaelpack4210
Potatoes are toxic, too, if we want to be technical about it. Many foods are. The availability of things like poke salad have meant nutrition and survival during hard times to many of the poverty stricken in this country. In a risk/benefit analysis, I'll keep the poke.
Yes, white potatoes are a nightshade vegetable as are peppers, eggplant & tomatoes. Some people (I am one) with RA are sensitive to the lectins in them which triggers inflammation.
I love the tender shoots sauteed / stir fried. No boiling! I haven't bought spinach or other leafy non-salad greens since I discovered poke 2 years ago. It's definitely worth the space it grows on! If harvested early and often it never becomes a tree.
The dose determines the toxicity, and all plants contain substances that will kill bugs and animals that try to eat them, so yes, choose your foods wisely - and go easy on the nightshades - tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers.
My mother picked and parboiled them because they were (still are) my favorite greens. It was quite a bit of work considering that we had plenty of money to buy store greens.
The berries are good for arthritis, just not eating the pit
That's correct, I have been eating the berries for a while for my arthritis. Never had a problem. Just spit the seeds out.
I swallowed them whole.
Seeds did not not bother me.
Is there a limit to how many berries to eat at once? I eat the new shoots stirfried. No boil. I tas🎉te the berries and it's not unpleasant but all this talk of toxicity makes me hesitant. I know there has to be a lot of antioxidants there with that coloring. I have frozen some to experiment with.
@@eleiththomas-ayesu31611 a day no more is what I've done
Is this plant simulator to or often confused with elderberries? @@jktarheel
That old song, Poke Salad Annie, is now playing in my head.
Mine too. Now it's an earworm.
Glad to have company....
My great grandmother gathered poke greens. She boiled it and drained it three times.
I have used the berries for dying wool. It gave me a dusty pink. Though I was using wood that still had some lanolin remaining in it. Poke dying must have a mordant added in order to set the color into the wool. Poke berry dye is not as permanent, as say black walnut hulls are, which has its own mordant!!~*
Interesting! I thought it would end up with a much darker color based on the berries. I did see a video a few years back of someone that used it to dye their yarn, but I don't remember all the details on what else they mixed in with it for mordant or the longevity of the color.
@@oneseedoneworld i suppose with a very consentrated amount of berries yes the color would probably be darker. So use a ton of berries lol!! If memory serves me correctly, I used Alum as the mordant!!~*
I dyed something with it and it turned out a bright bright pinkish purple. Very pretty but it washed right out. I didn't know you had to add something else.
I eat it every spring I'm 66, and not dead yet. I pick it when it's 5" or less tall. Wash it, bread it (corn meal, flour) fry it until crispy. All in the same day no boiling. It is very good with pinto beans and cornbread. Love it.
Used to pick the berries as a kid and play with them
I have about 8 poke plants currently growing in the backyard, birds love the berries. An as a child, we had "poke salad" with many springtime meals.
You eat not get sick
Early spring leaves prepare correctly are good and healthy.
@@navajo6931
Poke salad is delicious! I look forward to finding it every year and try to pick as much as I can and put some up in the freezer if possible. It's better than any green you will ever find in the grocery store. You are correct it must be boiled and the water poured off three times before serving but it is worth it! Trust me on this one...
Ann do you gather it in early spring?? Thats when my family said you had to get it. I use to go with them. It was the same time of spring that the Skunk cabbage was starting to pop up.
Yes. When the leaves are relatively new and tender. Old growth is too toxic and tough to eat.
I'll take your word for it. I'll stick to swiss chard. :) But I know a lot of people swear by it. I wish I knew someone that would come harvest them all out of my flower beds and garden. Would save me a lot of weeding!
@@cindybarton8562 we like to gather it any time of year when it still looks like it’s not too old or tough; preferably when the leaves have a pretty green color. My elderly neighbor told me many years ago she would cook her leaves in water until done & tender, then pour off the water. Then put the cooked leavers in her iron skillet with her seasonings.
I grew up eating this every spring. As a child it was the only green I like. In the final cooking stage, scrambled eggs would be added & all was eaten with fresh cornbread! Yumm!
@@deweyory1635 Thank you for sharing your experience!!~*
I’ve read that the usage for berries is for pain relief. The seeds are toxic, so you don’t crunch them, spit them out. So many ppl have said this on a video, that Id be willing to try them, or at least a tincture for my severe arthritis.
I have read the same, although others have had allergic reactions to even touching the plant. Always good to check first with an experienced forager, doc, or herbalist for proper usage.
After reading the same about the berries, I sampled one and over the past summer increased the number of berries I would eat to 10 at a time... with no perceived ill effects. As you shared, I did spit all of the seeds out -- they are many and tiny. By the way, I did this in Florida on a bush nearly tree sized, and again, well into the summer when toxicity is supposedly high. Not advocating/recommending to anyone else, but a year later I'm alive and well. 👍
@bigbendmarine, has it helped in any way by eating the berries? Your answer will be helpful. Thanks
Enjoyed the friendly and informative video. I've picked poke sallet, cooked, and eaten poke sallet. I had neighbor who did the triple boil and drain. She then lightly sauteed the sallet and mixed it with scrambled eggs. Just a note, and laughing, a gator never got my grannie 😀
Thanks for the kind feedback! Glad your grannie avoided the gators. :)
I'm going to respectfully disagree with you, sir. Poke leaves and berries aren't toxic and most every fact in your video is incorrect.
As long as you pick the leaves 4" and under there's no need to parboil it, and larger leaves only need a parboil because they are bitter otherwise, not because its toxic. The entire stem is edible too - cut it in 3" lengths, batter it and fry just like you would okra. The reason you dont eat the stem as it turns red is because its old and too tough to eat, not because its more toxic. The berries are totally edible in moderation. Too many will give you upset stomach. They are not tasty at all but people make wine and jelly from them because if you add enough sugar anything tastes better. Old folks swear by poke berries for rheumatism as well. Poke is the perfect example of "eat the weeds" because if you eat this invasive plant it won't be take over your yard. Cheers.
Appreciate your feedback. You mention that every fact in my video is incorrect. I am assuming you are referring to part one where I mention the toxicity of the plant and not all the additional historical items, uses for dye and ink, and migratory birds, or are you stating that is all incorrect too? Or maybe you skipped the rest of the video :)
In regard to the toxicity, I appreciate your take on it, but to say they aren't toxic is scientifically incorrect. All parts of the plant contain toxic properties in varying levels (the taproot having the most). Mature stems do contain more of these toxic properties than the young shoots do. But there is plenty of documentation on illness and death caused by ingesting pokeweed.. These properties can be harmful to both humans and many herbivores.
As I mentioned in the video, I personally wouldn't eat it, but I know when handled appropriately and using the correct parts of the plant, pokeweed has been used for both food and medicine over the years, and even canned pokeweed was sold in grocery stores for a time. Again, it was properly cooked beforehand. Additionally, many people may be more susceptible than others to experiencing ill effects depending on age, size, weight, and amount consumed.
I do appreciate your feedback, but there is plenty of data out there available on this plant, not only on the toxicity, but also all the other historical and environmental points I brought up to support my info. Thank you for watching and commenting. Namaste!
I bought a pound of dried poke berries from a man that said he eats a little every day. He puts some in his yogurt or adds them to muffins. Now I'm afraid to eat them. I'll keep researching but I'm glad I saw your message. Thanks
If it's indigenous it's not invasive. Might be "aggressive," but "invasive" has a pretty specific definition, in the world of botany.
I think if even indigenous, it can still be invasive if it causes harm (overgrowth choking out other plants, spreading rapidly, etc.). Although I do agree with you to a certain extent about the specific definitions. Whether aggressive or invasive, I still find it a pain on my property since I'm constantly having to dig it out of various garden and flower areas and can never keep up with it.
@@oneseedoneworld It's aggressive, but not to the point of damaging native ecosystems. It might be pushy, but if it's native to that ecosystem, it's not "invasive."
@@fairyring123 Correct. I have found that people use the word "invasive " on pretty much anything that reproduces that they don't like. From poke, to dandelions, to dock, to lambsquarter, to honeysuckle, the list is endless. Bermuda grass is invasive!
There is Poke popping up across Japan big time and starting to show up in other Asian nations
It's actually not native to the United States
I have eaten Polk Salat leaves ever since I can remember.. it has always made my family feel better after we ate it. We usually harvest it in the spring before the shoot or stalk turns red, before they bloom and make berries.
I have never talked to anyone who knows how to prepare Polk that say it made them sick or feel bad, only that it was delicious.
Wash them.. bring them to a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes. Pour that water off and repeat that 2 more times.. Then fry bacon.. scramble eggs in the bacon grease.. crumble the bacon. Then add your Polk salad to the bacon, scrambled eggs, and mix it altogether in the same skillet that you cooked the bacon and eggs in. Sometimes, we grate cheese on it. It is a fine breakfast!
That does sound good. Although I'll just go with swiss chard or beet greens myself. But for those who love pokeweed, that is a great recommendation for a meal!
I freeze those berries every year. I put them in a quart bag, and use them as medicine. Its good for arthritis.
Well done and learned a lot. After 40 years of gardening, my first Poke weed plant was about 5 years ago in SE Michigan. I left it because it was unique then. 5 years later, I have more poke weed and do not love having this much. Time to treat it as a weed and keep it in check.
Thank you! I'm glad you found the info helpful. Poke definitely has its benefits, but it can also spread pretty quick once the berries get going. I always miss a plant or two and end up fighting with it year after year.
I just cut a bunch of pokeweed out along my fence line today, and it reminded me of a song popular when I was a kid. It's called Poke Salad Annie, by Tony Joe White. Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash did covers, but the original, from 1968, is the one I remember best.
I remember the song Poke Sally Annie ..
I live and was born and raised in Alabama….I have eaten poke salat greens but not a lot….Im just not crazy about greens but what I do like is the young tender stalks PEELED and cut up and fried like okra….actually like it better than okra.
Recently I tried poke salat leaves for poison oak ….since I am getting older now, seems I can get that mess now where I didnt when I was young. ….all I did was rub a leaf of it on the out break and almost immediately it stopped itching and never itched again….about day an half, blisters gone….completely dried up….barely tell I ever had it. I was amazed
Did you rub the pokeweed leaves on the poison oak outbreak?
Fresh picked, or boiked first.
I'm extremely allergic to what we calked poison oak, but was actually Virginia Creeper.
They have five lobed leaves.
@@davidgraham2673 straight off the plant…being born and raised in the south I was amazed….never heard of it….and was amazed how well it worked for me.
Virginia creep (5 leaf) as for as I know is not poisonous …. Lot of it and poison oak around my place here in Alabama
@@royhudson8416 , My brother could wade in Virginia Creeper.
Me: I get it extremely easy, and very bad. It's like getting Poison Ivy as far as the itching, and tiny watery bumps that spread when you scratch.
It turns out that a percentage of the population is allergic to it. In North Carolina many of us call it Poison Oak, but it's not.
It's in my body now, and if I scratch an area too much, it comes back out, and I get a re-infection.
I'm always very careful around the stuff after my last serious bout when I was in my thirties.
@@royhudson8416
Hopefully Pokeweed works on that for me. I would love to have a better weapon than calamine lotion. That takes forever to heal me.
@@davidgraham2673 it was almost instant for me
We used mature leaves, too. My step father would deep fry the stalks, like one would okra.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
@@oneseedoneworld maybe you should redo this video since you've stated the weed is poison
@@nancywolf3786 I covered the toxic properties that are in the plant in the video. The plants chemical makeup hasn't changed, so why would I redo the video?
My dad and his family ate poke salad he was born in 38 and they didn't have anything unless they foraged, gardened, or hunted. This plant kept them going. He boiled it 4x because that's how his mother and grandmother did it. He later didn't eat it as he got older but he always grew one plant because its was pretty and it gave him great memories when he admired it. I now let at least one grow to have a great memory of him when I'm in my garden.
Thanks for sharing that! I know my video probably came across more negative about poke than intended. I didn't realize it until all the responses I got. I know it has been an important plant for food and medicine, especially in certain parts of the US and during certain time periods. I am probably more biased, because of how many I have come up in my garden, yard, flower beds, etc. every year and I'm constantly trying to keep it at bay. So its definitely not my favorite plant. I should probably do a follow up video though that sheds a bit more positive light on it :)
@@oneseedoneworld I didn't take your video as negative. What people knew back then was much less than now. They did what they had to to eat. My dad was born in a mountain in Alabama and it was those days where if you married an Indian you were pretty much shunned so they didn't have many opportunities. When he was 17 he hitchhiked to Orlando Florida, got a job, slept in he street for a year and saved every penny to move his mother and 11 siblings down to have a better life. They didn't need to eat it then. I agree they can be a pain when they are everywhere.... I know what they look like by now even the day they pop up and pull most of them. I only leave 1 and it has to be in the very edge of my yard away from the garden. I deadhead as soon as possible so the pollinator can get the flowers but it won't fruit. You did a great job and I didn't take anything you said as negative.
@@jeaniedeveau164 Thanks so much for the feedback! Sounds like your dad had an interesting life!
I wish I kept up with my poke as well as you do. I always mean to, but then go do something else instead and next time I look they're 3 feet tall and a root base the size of my arm. 😆
Hi !! I'm from Portugal , Southwest in Europe , the weather here resembles the one in California . We have so much Phytolacca americana here - poke weed and actually there isn't a tradition ( as far as I know ) of consuming it nowadays. I'm sure the elders knew best. I am quite curious so i do make use of the poke week leaves for poke sallet and the poke berries make a lovely jam.
Got an 8 footer in a full sun area that’s killing me inside…provides a natural barrier, isn’t ugly and brings colorful birds to chow on the berries, which we watch from the kitchen in the morning. This is a nice thing. what’s not nice is the endless bird crap (in fairness the cherry tree out front doesn’t help either).
I feel your pain! I have had a couple I let go (and later wished I didn't because now they come back there every year and the root system is massive. But they do look pretty in the fall, its just choosing an area that you and the birds can both enjoy without too much....crap. :)
I have the Plant in my backyard and I was wondering if could eat it. But thanks for your information, I'll keep the searching.
Pokeweed is my favorite green and I've been eating it as long as I can remember but I never knew I could grow it until recently. Thank you so much for your video because now that I'm older and have mobility issues I don't get to eat it as much as I'd like. Thanks to your video maybe I can even put some in the freezer this year.
Thank you so much for great presentation
I ate a few of the berries last night didn't make me sick just got me on the pot I think it wasn't direa so maybe didn't do anything not sure
Hi any more side effects?
In the past, I've swallowed several berries a day ,seeds 'n all, for arthritis. Worked well for me. Don't recall getting the runs though. Everyone is different I guess.
I have been eating the Polk Berry's for arthritis since I was 28 years old.
Now at 66 yo I have very little problem with arthritis. When I get a flair up,. I will eat 5-6 berries.
Don't eat more than around 8 at the most. They will give you diarrhea. Don't eat or crack the seed in the berries for they'll cause diarrhea also.
My grandmother passed away at 97.
She used pokeberries for arthritis for many years.
I eat it often and also make poke berry jelly .
Recipe please? Got plants nearby....I'd love to make some.
I would like to know more about that jelly
@@tramainemiles977 There are recipes on canning poke berries on the internet.
A lot of people eat poke berries. They have to start with small dosages I guess and work up to several berries per day without eating the pits. It has been said that it aids in relieving pain and arthritis. Somebody needs to take a harder look at this and maybe adjust the science.
When I was a kid growing up in the50s we ate it a lot. My mother taught me how to pick it and it became one of my chores.
Is it often confused with elderberries?
I live in SC. I eat it alot.
I boil my leaves X 3 and draining the liquid off
I then fry the leaves in bacon grease
Taste like spinach to me
God bless you and your family 🙏🙏🙏
I think I'd rather just have spinach 😀But as I mentioned, I didn't grow up eating poke, so even though I think its an interesting plant, I don't particularly want to brave eating it. But I know a lot of people do and love it!
Agreed, spinach sounds like a lot less work and much safer.
Been eating it my whole life boil 30 min fry in bacon grease add garlic its so good for you ........IF YOU NEVER EATEN IT USE CATION
I just cut some down again. I didn’t know what it was until now. It is a pain cutting it down. Next year I will keep after it better!!
Thank you só much for this very informative video! I discovered this plant in my vegetable garden, and was intrigued by especially its beautiful, minute little flowers, so I watered it and was looking forward to what it may possibly yield ... Needless to say, after identifying it via internet, and especially after watching your video, I'll now remove it completely!
I've seen my grandfather eat the berrys a many of times.He lived to be 95.He said they good for his digestive track. Never eat to many myself.
I like that you do what I do with this delicious weed! I can hardly wait for spring to start reaping the fresh shoots. I don't allow the plant to mature. As soon as I get about 6 inches of stem growth I snip. It regrows so rapidly I chop and freeze what I can't immediately eat. I do NOT boil off anything. I saute and enjoy this delicious weed with anything I fancy several times a week. Finely shedded for scrambled eggs and about an inch for stir fry, stews and soups. Avoid eating too much at once. It does give a good bulky movement. If your habit is not normally "free" that will make you uncomfortably crampy. If you make eating it habit it diminishes that tendency. The berries are not unpleasant to taste. That will be my next experiment. It must have a lot of antioxidant properties with that deep purple. If the birds love it that much it can't be all that bad. Hmm. Maybe poke lemonade.
I love this plant, because it attracts birds and I use it as a chop-and-drop plant and the huge tap root de-compacts my soil. I don't bother eating it, since it requires so much work to make safe. I totally agree with the presenter, that there are plenty of other plants to eat, without the trouble of using so much water to boil.
Thank you, I have it in my yard and I didn't know this until now
Poke berries can be used to help with arthritis. Just don't swallow the seeds.
What effect does it have on arthritis? Does it just help manage the pain and discomfort or does it resolve the arthritis? I have seen a video recommending one Barry per day.
@@teressasuddaby9695 ruclips.net/video/FID5YwCAr-U/видео.htmlsi=kefP1Jo0RD3fbY4W
Had no clue this was toxic. Live in the PNW and one of these appeared in our back yard garden this season and we didn't know what it was. Now it's fully mature but the birds ignore it.
I don't know for sure, but I think only certain types of birds like them, and they're not always first choice from what I've seen with birds around here.
Pokeberry is not native to PNW so it wouldn't surprise me that the birds local to PNW would not recognize it as edible. We are in southwest Mississippi and the mockingbirds sing merrily as they line up every day for access to our pokeberry trees. I used to be afraid of this plant until I learned more about it. This year I have picked berries and made an alcohol tincture for work with fibromyalgia pain. Now I enjoy this plant for its beauty and gifts. Great video on how not to be afraid: ruclips.net/video/EO3zoL2YlC0/видео.html
I am gleefully watching cedar waxwing and bluebirds chowing down on my poke berry.
(Sorry for the long comment, but it's relevant.) I didn't grow up in middle Tennessee but here we are. Not being familiar with the local flora and fauna, we didn't know that our yard was nice and chock full of toxic plants. When my son mentioned a few weeks ago that we had a lot of berries in the yard by the blackberries, I had him show me, and I tripped in the dark, and got the juice on my skin. Some things about this plant got my immediate attention:
1. The ripe berries exploded just by being barely touched. 2. Good, safe food isn't as prolific as that, maybe except for blackberries. This stuff was spreading like sin.
3. When I leaned over to look at this thing, the amount of flies and gnats swarming was a cloud. That's the first time I saw it.
4. I was wearing shorts. Ended up with berry juice on my legs and the hunch to get it off of my skin kicked in.
While I didn't die from this plant, and I made ABSOLUTLEY sure to wash it off of my skin as quickly as possible, AND immediately changed my clothes, I did feel very sick for a couple of days, mainly throwing up. (I have issues with bad allergies.) We're in the late M-I-L house and she had been planting different things, but didn't tell us WHAT. Yeah. We're trying to kill it off as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. I'm sure the color of the juice makes a fantastic dye, but I'm not feeling it, nor willing to gamble with the risk. Nopenopenopetynope.
Used to be able to buy it in the grocery store already cooked but that was many years ago ("Allens" brand came in a can)
Common name for the poke plant is cancer root .It has many medicinal properties .Don't touch the roots if you have a severe reaction to the berries and leaves!!The seeds are very tiny and toxic.The berries are not toxic (Poke berry wine is made from the berries)
That’s terrible. Use to play with berries as a kid doing berry juice tattoos, marks on the skin because of it dyeing properties the marks would stay for days. No adverse reactions ever.
@@sherryporsch9349 Only the tiny seeds in the berry is toxic,They have a terrible taste.People swallow them whole the seeds pass in your stool and won't hurt you.Some people swallow them whole for rheumatism (relieves pain)
I think some are more prone to allergic reactions from touching it than others. I personally have handled it without any issue, but its always good to be aware of the possibility. I do wear gloves now when removing it just to be safe, although the ones that get away from me still end up staining me with berry juice when I'm mowing. Sorry to hear you were sick from it, but glad that it wasn't anything long term.
@@Yeshuaschosen Yes it use to be called a rheumatoid plant
Living on rural farms in eastern Texas as a kid, we ate poke (leaves & small stems) all the time just like one eats spinach. We didn't eat old or the large stems, nor the berries. I can't remember if we kept the cows from eating it when old. You used to be able to buy poke in cans commercially just like spinach. I haven't lived in the eastern or southern states for many decades and do not know if it can still be purchased. It was very tasty and sometimes Mom would cook it with eggs.
I think Allen Canning company, that sold canned poke greens, produced/sold their last batch in 2000. As far as I'm aware, it hasn't been available for commercial sale since then.
I found about 8 plants about 8 foot tall and i gat all the berries and i eat six a day and my joint pain is gone i keep the rest in the refrig for latter
Loved the video. Now to go out and dig up my little pokeweeds as I do every year. (sigh) Glad they're enjoyed by people; nothing goes to waste for those who have the knowledge.
I wish you success with your digging. Those roots are the devil if they get big. I'm digging them every year!
@@oneseedoneworld Learned my lesson last year when I decided to find out what those tall plants with berries were. Well, I found out. Dug them up, have more this year but digging those little guys up and hope to get it sort of under control. Want to see my flowers, not pokeweed!
@@anna3036 Yes they can spread rapidly once the berries are on. I have a line of hostas along the back of my garden that was overtaken with Pokeweed. I didn't get rid of them early enough last year, so now I have twice as many to dig out. I'm always amazed at how pokeweed and other things like thistles can thrive in the worst condition, while everything else you want to grow struggles!
@@oneseedoneworld We've been planting native plants since we moved here to CT from KS. Hadn't seen the pokeweed before. We get lots of volunteer plants in our yard since we feed birds. Blackberries, a walnut tree, (I guess that was squirrels), aster, strawberries. Which we keep. Should just let the birds do the planting. Except they brought us the pokeweed. Wish they'd plant us more sunflowers; they eat those seeds!
@Anna birds bring us mulberry, pokeweed, etc. Squirrels bring us black walnut. Wind brings burdock and thistles. And I'm not sure where the tree of heaven comes from. I fight back invasive stuff throughout every season. I agree, I wish the sunflowers and other flowers I plant would spread instead. I have had luck with bee balm and bachelor button spreading, and they have helped choke out a lot of thistle areas.
i never knew this lol i always heard they were poisonous so i always whack em down with a bush axe whenever they start growing lol they grow like weeds where i’m at 😭😭 never seen em in jersey but in nc they grow everywhere ! but i think i’ll let em grow to keep the birds out of my garden now lol
I don't know if leaving them will keep birds out of your garden. Probably just give them something additional to choose from. Catbirds at my place still eat my strawberries, but can also eat pokeberry. 😀
Exactly. I grow a number of things, including the naturally occurring pokeberry, for just that reason and it does help!
Some of my seeds are already purple in June here in northwest Florida.
I know this is a old video but I have a question about how long can you pick poke after spring thanks
Everyone will have a different opinion of course, but I think you can harvest 12 to 18 inches tall, but well before flowers appear. One recommendation I saw said knee high or shorter.
Hello from Alabama/8A. My grandmother used it for arthritis. We just moved into this neglected house, but I have a dog who doesn't much mess with it YET, but I'm paranoid, so I'm going to pull it. Some of it is huge, so this'll be fun. I have arm protection and good gloves, so hopefully I won't poison myself. :p
Some people do have an allergic reaction/skin irritation, however I have pulled it plenty of times without gloves. Most of the toxicity is more if taken internally when not cooked properly, so you should be fine. If yours are large, the root base is probably massive and really hard to get rid of, so you may be dealing with it for years to come. When they are young, they are fairly easy to pull out by the root, but once established, I've found its easier to keep up with them by just weed whacking the sprouts every couple of weeks. Good luck!
I think I am just going to cut more berries bag them and make a dye for my General Motors sweatshirt
there is a Southern Rock song called Poke Salad Annie , look it up
Yes, several bands and artists have performed it, Elvis probably being the most famous.
@@oneseedoneworld Hi, there's a good version of Tony Joe White singing the song on Austin City Limits , I think he might have written the song ,
@@Attercop47 thanks, I'll check it out!
I’ve eaten it and it was good. Similar to turnip greens. Certainly not similar to asparagus.
I just recently read another article that referred to cutting the shoots like asparagus when its young, so maybe that's what the original writer meant.
I have a plant in my yard that looks like this later in the season..except the base and the stem is very big. Does anyone know if there is another plant that looks similar to the Pokeweed???
The closest look alike would be knotweed. However knotweed would usually not have any berries on it and the leaves are somewhat different.
Poke weed stems can get pretty thick especially at the base if they have the right growing conditions.
the plants are beautiful as are the blooms and berries. if the birds and the bees love em, i won't pull them all out
I have to disagree about calling this plant "invasive"-- I can get behind calling nonnatives invasive, but to call a native plant invasive seems to me to be wrongheaded. I can go for, "fecund" or "readily self-sows" or "will reseed where you don't want it", but the term invasive seems unfair, since that has a connotation of "must be eradicated" and "do not grow". Also, this whole thing that the plant is dangerous in the yard is way overblown, I've had to learn about it myself because I was scared of it. Here is an excellent video, which shares that there was once a commercial poke greens industry in the southern US, and you could buy it in CANS. It tells how to safely use. The leaves are 25% protein, which is extremely high. ruclips.net/video/EO3zoL2YlC0/видео.html
I just bagged a bunch of berries and froze it another video said to swallow 8 berries whole for 3 days for arthritis .
I bought a pound of dried poke berries from a man that said he eats them every day in yogurt or in muffins. Now I'm afraid to eat them.
I recently saw another video where someone had commented that their grandmother used to make pokeberry jam and would eat a little bit every day or a few times a week and never had arthritis. Definitely something not to be overdone. I was thinking about maybe making some, that is why I am watching more videos and looking at more comments. Do you research first...
Listen I'm 81 years old,been eating poke since I can remember had some a week ago.these scare mongers don't know what they are talking about, I've consumed all parts of it,use common since boil and rinse three times then cook like turnip greens enjoy.😊
I'm an herbalist and use both the berries and root medicinally in very small doses like 1 to 3 drops of root tincture or Berry juice. The one part of the plant that is actually deadly toxic and you really do need to be careful with is the seeds. People who swallow the berries whole without chewing them usually don't have any problems. The seeds won't open in your digestive system if you haven't broken them open with your teeth or other implements. When making a juice of the berries, to be used in drop amounts you just need to be very careful not to break open any of the seeds. This is one of the plants that I view as not a poison but a very potent medicine. You definitely need to know how to use it properly, but it can be used with great benefit. Consult an herbalist.
Thank you so much for that input and information. When I first did this video, I didn't think that poke had such a strong following, and I've had all kinds of responses, most of which is anecdotal, so its nice to see some herbalist info. I'm more interested in using the berries for dying cotton and flax threads, although I know the plant has many other useful properties. I'm just not as much of a fan because I am constantly trying to keep it at bay in my garden and flower beds 😇
My dad always made sure we had Polk greens twice a year, he said it will purify the blood. We always let it get to a boil then poor of liquid off the leaves this had to be done 3 times, before cooking.
The boil 3 times process is what I have seen/read that most people do. I don't dispute its potential medicinal qualities, I just prefer plants I don't have to cook that much :)
I found some in my Aloe Vera pots, they are strong, hard to remove.
Thanks for the info I’m removing them today using some gloves. Location: Los Angeles, California
Once they get established, the roots are definitely rough! I have some that got as big around as my arm. Good luck!
Good video I have a million pokeweeds in my yard. I guess I will make ink and write a new Constitution.
lol Great idea!
West coast here! My property is rampant with polk Weed ❤
I can empathize! Hope you can keep it under control!
I've got some beautiful huge plants as tall as 10 feet. They are especially nice this year and hanging full of fruit that many song birds including my chickens love to eat. I don't eat any plants anymore but grew up eating poke as a child and for many many years. An old man got me eating the berries when I was ten years old and I still eat a few while I'm picking them for my birds. I can't say that I've ever had any effects from eating any part of the plant good or bad. I've heard the stalks are mighty tasty, much like okra but I wouldn't know. Never had any reason to mess with the roots except to relocate a plant.
I think it's a sad disservice to perpetuate the unfounded nonsense about the plants. It got a lot of people through the depression years and was once sold in cans on grocers shelves.
Not sure what you mean about unfounded nonsense. The plants do have a toxicity in them and require proper preparation (and some people have allergic reactions to just handling the plant). They have a lot of good things about them and an interesting history, but its also important to understand the toxicity properties of the plant. It would be a disservice to not share that information.
Never personally known a single person in my 62 years that has had any kind of issue with the plant. Never heard before the internet started the campaign about this wickedly deadly plant being so bad.
Peanuts are deadly for real to a lot of people too. Turns out apparently, you don't let your kids have peanuts when they're growing up they will die from coming in contact with them later in life.
Strange world we live in.....
@@beebop9808 I don't think there is an internet campaign. And no one said anything about it being wickedly deadly, just caution about the actual properties in the plant. Its not made up, its actual botany. I do know people who have had allergic skin reactions to handling the plant without gloves, although it has never affected me this way. I think you are taking one portion of the video to make an argument and didn't bother with all the other things I mentioned on how the plant was and is used. I personally don't bother with eating it because I have plenty of other wild plants in my yard that can be eaten that don't have toxic properties that I need to be careful with (not to mention it constantly tries to overtake many of my flower beds, and I'm tired of keeping it at bay. Mine is just one take on the plant, and its important for each person to do their own research and make their own decision on if and how they want to use any wild foraged plant. Discussing the chemical make up of a plant isn't a campaign against it.
My mother would cook it and mix it with scrambled eggs it was delicious 😊❤
We have pokeweed in MN. It’s edible and used as medicine.
What if you are allergic to weeds?
Some people do have allergic reactions to this plant and wear gloves when handling. It varies from person to person.
I have some that are green
And cooking them 3 times consumes most if not all the nutrition value.
I wondered about that, considering cooking anything for extended periods of time reduces a lot of the good stuff for which we would eat it anyway!
@@oneseedoneworld My mom only boiled it 1 time. The stems do taste like asparagus. They are very good. Poke isn't too overly toxic. I recently put a video up where my goats ate a small patch of it down to the stem. I never even saw any diarrhea in the herd.
@@embassysweets8607 I know a lot of people eat it (although I wouldn't base what I eat off the goats, they eat everything, lol). Many have different ways of boiling/cooking it, and some have allergic reactions to the toxic properties in it while others don't have any at all. Its an interesting plant for sure, I would just rather eat something like purslane or burdock where I don't have to worry about it. 🙂
@@oneseedoneworld Actually, no, goats can be quite picky and they certainly won't eat everything. Mine had very distinct tastes and there were certain trees I have here they wouldn't touch and others eat till stripped, would eat some "weeds" and not touch others, etc.
An interesting plant - it would be good to know the medicinal uses of it ; I'm interested due to reactions to pharmacuticals + where I live , we have a similar shrub , which the birds like & spread . The berries cling to the stems , and all honey , must be tested for "tutin" - the toxin which even minute bits of pollen , can kill humans as easily as any farm stock that decide to have a munch on it , though I've heard the juice can be dunk , when it's filtered to remove all traces of flesh .
There is much more detailed info out there on how it was used medicinally (various journals and studies) but too much for me to cover in a quick overview video.
@@oneseedoneworld Thank you
LOL, my mother boiled them 3 times. I was raised in the Sandhills of North Carolina.
From most things I have read (and from responses from other commenters), I think the 3 times rule is pretty standard. That's too much work for me. I'll stick to swiss chard or spinach and only have to cook it once. :)
Just found out what this large plant was that I have growing out of my garden bed! I am going to don some gloves and try to cut it down and dig it out. I was lazy in the spring and put every plant I purchased in the bed - veggies and flowers and suspect it was in the dirt of one of the flowers I purchased, as I had filled the beds with organic miracle grow raised bed soil the last 2 years. Because the roots are so invasive I hope that it hasn't affected the other produce in there. It is sharing the bed with tomatoes, peppers, kohlrabi, eggplant, kale and soon garlic. Thanks for your video!
Good luck with removing it. While the roots will steal nutrients from the soil, it shouldn't have too much of an effect on your other plants. I have them popping up in beds all the time, and some get ahead of me, but I haven't noticed an issue with other plants around it.
It's everywhere in the northwest city country hills
Geez guy, gather young shoots and leaves. Boil and change the water a couple of times. By far the best cooked greens you ever put in your mouth.
How hard is that?
Fair enough. However I can forage purslane out of my yard and eat it fresh without cooking it at all and its delicious and full of superfood nutrients. I just thought it was important to cover the phytochemicals for Pokeweed for part of the video. Didn't realize what a contested topic it is for those who enjoy the young greens :) I should probably do a follow up video on it.
@@oneseedoneworld I apologize if I came across harsh. Unintended. It's just millions of Americans looked forward to these fresh greens after slim winters.
Folks didn't try to get rid of them. They felt lucky to have them. They'd put them up.
If your other choices were curly dock or wild mustard, you'd agree. 🤠👍
@@ferengiprofiteer9145 No offense taken! I appreciate your comments and feedback. I randomly include wild plants that grow in my yard in videos, often because I find them interesting, enjoy the history of them, or what to share the importance of various nutrients or toxicity. Occasionally, one of these will strike a chord with viewers and I get lots of feedback and I found with Pokeweed, there are a lot of people who really enjoy it and are quite protective of it. :) I know in this video I covered more of the toxicity (and also because I struggle to keep it from spreading all over my garden and flowerbeds), so I may have come across as more negative in my views of the plant. I am actually much more interested in using the berries for dying homemade linen or thread then using it as a food source. But I also think a follow up video might be good, so I can address my negativity and show it in a more positive light. So feedback like yours and many others is always greatly appreciated!
i eat pokeberry, spit out the seeds.
A very medicinal plant. Toxic yes it is just like most pharmaceutical medicines if you take too much it's toxic. Just like pharmaceuticals the proper dose is key.
What if it does touch your skin
In most cases it shouldn't cause any issue. I do know of a couple people who had some mild allergic reactions/skin irritation, but nothing that was overly serious.
I always pick the berries without gloves.
@@evafarley8074 that's what I'm wondering because I do to but and they break on my skin but nothing ever happens so I'm just wondering is it longterm effects or not at all
@@nolanrueckert8061 not that I am aware of.
This plant is gold from God to us
Dude look up poke and allen cannery. Stop spreading fear.
My intent in the video was not to spread fear. Talking about the phytochemicals in a plant for awareness was only 1 of the few items I brought up about Pokeweed. You may have skipped the part where I talked about Poke Salad that people eat, but for me personally it wasn't something I was interested in. I am doing an additional follow up video this year on Pokeweed and some of its more positive attributes. I appreciate the comment and feedback.