Pokeweed

Stout, succulent, branching plant over 3' high. 5 sepals round and petal like. Dark purple berries, with edible young shoots. But root and possibly the berries may be poisonous.

Distribution: Native to eastern North America, the Midwest, the Gulf Coast, and the West coast states of the USA.

Uses: Young pokeweed leaves can be used as salad, or stewed like collard greens. The green shoots can be boiled and eaten like asparagus or added to salad as a vegetable. Pokeweed berries, roots and mature stalks, however, are highly poisonous to humans and some animals.