Poke

Description: The leaves are oval, or lance-shaped, succulent, and prominently veined. The leaves grow to 4 to 10 inches long. The flowers are white-pink, green and they grow on a pink stem. The flowers transform into a glossy pea-sized berry that starts green but then ripens into a deep purple/black color. The mature plant grows between 5 and 8 feet tall and has a magenta hollow stem/base. Once one learns this plant it is really hard to forget. In the plant's full mature summer glory it kind of looks like it belongs in a sci-fi comic book.

Edible Parts: The young shoots and leaves must be properly cooked. The shoots should be less than 12" tall collected in the spring. The ripe berries can be eaten but the seeds are considered toxic. The roots are considered poisonous.

Notes: I have known this plant my whole life. Its summer presentation is captivating. Tall purple trunk and very dark juicy berry were fun to throw and stain things purple. As a child, it was interesting how easily I could knock down such a big plant. I was taught as a child, by who I don't remember, that it was poisonous. The poison claim might be true to some extent. If not properly prepared it will cause extreme diarrhea and or death. There have been reported deaths from this plant, but I am still looking for the facts. HOWEVER!!!! To Native Americans, settlers, and our southern grandparents it was a highly sought-after pot herb. Sometime during my lifetime, the Poke morphed from good food to poison in the foraging literature. Poke was actually commercially canned as food and sold in grocery stores until the year 2000. On most nature walks with my daughter, in an effort to teach her the name of the plant, I would playfully "POKE" her in the ribs whenever we passed a poke plant.

Like most wild plants all the human, chemical, harm/benefit relationships are almost scientifically unknowable. Dr. Carina Baskett is one of the few Pokeweed experts and has difficulty understanding the benefit and or dangers of this plant. In Baskett's interview with Rob Nelson, she explains that the ancestral knowledge that has been passed down on how to prepare this plant may be somewhat incorrect. Most people who consume this plant advise to only eat the young leaves and shoots, before the petioles and plant stems start to turn red/purple. They believe the purple stem flesh is poisonous. Dr. Baskett stated that the poisonous chemicals in Poke are unknown. She also stated that the chemical that makes the red/purple color is harmless, it is the same chemical that gives beets their red color. She also stated that her research revealed that the younger shoots and leaves are actually more toxic than the mature shoots and leaves. She also discovered that the poke that grows in the southern U.S is much more toxic than the Poke that grows in the northern U.S. These facts are interesting because only the southern cultures, for the most part, consume this plant. Dr. Baskett suspects/guessed that the toxins that harm humans may be an alkaloid that can be removed by hot water leaching. The common preparation method of boiling the plant's leaves in water for 15 minutes, pouring the water out, and then a 2nd 15-minute boil. The leaves should then be rinsed and then sauteed.

Dr. Baskett interview: https://youtu.be/_sSowiUvMto

Contributor:

JRH

Below are videos of Poke collection and prep.