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Taxon  Report  
Phytolacca americana  L.
American pokeweed,   Pokeberry
Phytolacca americana is a perennial herb that is not native to California.
Cal-IPC rating: limited
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Observation Search
~760 records in California
redone or more occurrences
within a 7.5-minute quadrangle
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Subspecies and Varieties:
Genus: Phytolacca
Family: Phytolaccaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Toxicity: Do not eat any part of this plant.

Wetlands:
Arid West: Equally likely to occur in wetlands and non wetlands
Mountains, Valleys and Coast: Occurs usually in non wetlands, occasionally in wetlands

Habitat: disturbed

Communities: weed, characteristic of disturbed places

Name Status:
Accepted by PLANTS

Information about  Phytolacca americana from other sources
USDA PLANTS Profile (PHAM4)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

[Wikipedia] Poisonous, Description, Native Range: Phytolacca americana, also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, dragonberries, and inkberry, is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae. This pokeweed grows 1 to 3 metres (4 to 10 ft).[4] It has simple leaves on green to red or purplish stems and a large white taproot. The flowers are green to white, followed by berries which ripen through red to purple to almost black which are a food source for songbirds such as gray catbird, northern mockingbird, northern cardinal, and brown thrasher, as well as other birds and some small non-avian animals (i.e., for species that are unaffected by its mammalian toxins). Pokeweed is native to eastern North America, the Midwest, and the South, with more scattered populations in the far West. It is also naturalized in parts of Europe and Asia. It is considered a pest species by farmers.[5] Pokeweed is poisonous to humans, dogs, and livestock. In spring and early summer, shoots and leaves (not the root) are edible with proper cooking (hence the common name "poke sallet"[6]), but later in the summer they become deadly, and the berries are also poisonous. It is used as an ornamental in horticulture, and it provokes interest for the variety of its natural products (toxins and other classes), for its ecological role, its historical role in traditional medicine, and for some utility in biomedical research (e.g., in studies of pokeweed mitogen). In the wild, it is easily found growing in pastures, recently cleared areas, and woodland openings, edge habitats such as along fencerows, and in wastelands. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 12/04/2024).