Weeds are making appearances all across panhandle Florida with fresh supple leaves and, in many cases, blooms and developing fruit or seeds of some sort. While these unplanned plants come in all sizes and shapes, it is the large ones that are frequently noticed first.
One of these is the common pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), a native North American perennial weed frequently found in pastures as well as fence-rows, row crop fields, and wooded areas.
As spring moves to summer, this plant is emerging far above its competitors. The recent warm weather, combined with ample rain, has accelerated the regrowth in north Florida.
Once common pokeweed becomes established, it regrows each year from a large, fleshy taproot. The crown of the root is where the plant is regenerated and can be as large as five and a half inches in diameter at the soil surface within two growing seasons.
Pokeweeds are currently towering above other weeks. Soon this native perennial will produce inky berries, some of which will be consumed by birds. “Residue” of the meal too often ends up on vehicles.
Pokeweed usually has a red trunk-like stem, which becomes hollow as the plant matures later in the year. Leaves become quite large as the plant grows to its full potential and are the basis for the poke salad, a measure to reduce food costs in desperate times.
This plant is only found on the menu of the financially distressed because all parts of the plant contain saponins, oxalates, and the alkaloid toxin phytolacine. The roots and seeds of this species contain the highest concentrations of these compounds.
The process for rendering the leaves edible by humans, or other mammals, involves a series of boiling, washing and boiling again. Short of eminent starvation, it is not a good or safe meal choice.
When in bloom the individual flowers appear green to white and are typically missing petals.
Fruits are green when immature and turn a deep purple to black at maturity which is the basis for one alternate name for this species, inkberry.
Each fruit contains about nine small, hard-shelled seeds. Pokeweed can produce a few thousand seeds to over 48,000 seeds per plant annually.
These seeds may remain viable in the soil for over four decades (40 years) under the right conditions. When the proper circumstances for growth arise again, the seeds sprout and the process is repeated.
While not a suitable selection for people or livestock, birds eat the fruits without much evidence of harm and are usually the means for seed dispersal. Roosting sites along fence rows and under utility lines frequently show signs of seed deposits.
In addition to feeding cardinals, mocking birds, cedar waxwings and other songbirds, the pokeweed is a host to a variety of insects. Some are beneficial and others are not.
A number of caterpillars utilize this weed to sustain their larval stage of development. Unfortunately, some other less desirable insects also use the local weed.
As such Pokeweed can act as reservoirs of various viruses transmitted by insects which pierce the plant’s surface and suck its juices. When the insect pest visits vegetable and ornamental plants for a nip of a favored fluid, the disease may be transferred.
Whiteflies and aphids are the main culprits, but other insect species can contribute to the disease issue.
If left in the environment, it is still best to leave the pokeweed to the bugs and birds, and skip the Polk salad.
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