Can someone identify this plant?

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Weedygarden

Weedygarden

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I saw this plant and wondered what it is? Can any of you tell me what it is?
What is this plant.jpg
 
Pokeweed.

Young shoots/leaves are edible only if properly prepared. Do NOT eat the roots, ever. Seeds are poisonous, even after they have been cooked. Most people don't mess around with the berries either, unless you want to make ink (seriously... used as ink in the Civil War days, and some samples are still legible today). Some people make a jelly with the boiled berry juice if the numerous tiny seeds have been carefully removed.

http://www.eattheweeds.com/can-be-deadly-but-oh-so-delicious-pokeweed-2/

http://www.foragingtexas.com/2006/04/pokeweedpoke-salat.html
 
timmie said:
I was told it's a beauty berry and poisinous.I know the birds won't eat the berries'
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No, the OP photo is not beautyberry. This is: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=caam2

Click on the picture gallery within the link to see more photos of the lovely beautyberry bush. It is so pretty that this wild plant is also cultivated and sold as a garden ornamental. A Google search will show you more pictures and cultivation information.

Beautyberry is a useful plant. I especially like using the leaves as a bug repellant. Here's more info about the plant (reader's comments are useful too): http://www.eattheweeds.com/beautyberry-jelly-on-a-roll/
 
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Weedygarden said:
I wonder how it is spread? I assumed it was birds who spread it. Guess I was wrong.
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You are right! For best germination, the seeds need to go through the digestive system of a bird. Some people who want to grow pokeweed for its shoots treat the seeds in a special way to enhance germination.
 
timmie said:
I was told it's a beauty berry and poisinous.I know the birds won't eat the berries'
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The raw poke berries are poisonous, but old timers made jelly with the cooked and carefully strained juice. The numerous seeds are poisonous, whether they are cooked or raw. The roots are especially poisonous. (Experienced herbalists favor a using a tiny amount of tincture of the roots for certain conditions.)

Around 30 species of birds eat the pokeberries: https://westboroughlandtrust.org/nn/nn145

Many species of birds eat beautyberries, too: https://garden.org/ideas/view/wildflowers/147/All-About-American-Beautyberry/
(also at this link is the bug repellant info I talked about)
 
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That is Poke. I have it growing on my place. It's considered a weed and I always saw it growing up in the area we kept out farm equipment stored at ( bushhog, plow, disk ). That area never got mowed other than when we finished clearing the pastures. really maybe once in the fall.
I assume it is spread by birds. but now that I think of it, I've never saw one on it before.
 
Poke weed! Picked early spring ( in the south) through early to mid June. Parboil and discard the water a couple of times, then simmer until tender with a little bacon or ham, salt and pepper, and a little shake of red pepper flakes. So good! I quit harvesting when the red starts creeping up the stalk. I’ve heard the berries are poisonous and I’ve seen a You Tube video of a man eating them. I haven’t been brave enough to try them.
 
First guy died eating the berries. Then someone else comes along and says maybe if I made jelly and removed the seeds it would be ok?

Hey! Just made a fresh batch of jelly, want to try some?

Just like other poisonous plants, did a group of people sit around eating different parts of the plant and whoever survives just made a new discovery? They found a new source of food!

Is this how they got rid of village idiots? Have them test different parts of a plant?

Kinda makes you wonder.
 
Cnsper said:
First guy died eating the berries. Then someone else comes along and says maybe if I made jelly and removed the seeds it would be ok?

Hey! Just made a fresh batch of jelly, want to try some?

Just like other poisonous plants, did a group of people sit around eating different parts of the plant and whoever survives just made a new discovery? They found a new source of food!

Is this how they got rid of village idiots? Have them test different parts of a plant?

Kinda makes you wonder.
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Or maybe they tried it on their prisoners?
 
No one eats the berries but the berries are consumed by hundreds if not thousands of people, dried berries. Poke is my favorite medicine. It's a potent antiviral and a potent anti-inflammatory.

The berries are not eaten. Dried berries are swallowed whole. These have the same potent antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects as tincture made from the root... If I'm ever in a situation where alcohol wasn't available to make tincture... I'd dry a boat load of poke berries every august.

Yes, poke is spread birds, same with humans, the seeds don't dissolve in our G/I system. Just as with birds the seeds pass through us as well... Chewing up one seed isn't going to kill you, you probably wouldn't even notice. I wouldn't recommend chewing a handful though...

Just as @Grizzleyette___Adams does I use beautyberry as an insect repellent.

Oh! I wouldn't recommend more than 2 or 3 dried berries in a day.
 
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NannyPatty said:
Thx, Peanut! I don’t think that I would ever gotten the nerve to try them. Too many old timers around here who know. I’ve even had them tell me horror stories about the leaves being eaten raw in salad and the person died. I’ll stick to the tried and true.
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Lettuce and cabbage?
 
I've seen the cardinals, mourning doves and the bluejays here eat them but only in the winter after they've dried on the plant. Wonder if that changes the flavor for them?
 
Grizzleyette___Adams said:
The raw poke berries are poisonous, but old timers made jelly with the cooked and carefully strained juice. The numerous seeds are poisonous, whether they are cooked or raw. The roots are especially poisonous. (Experienced herbalists favor a using a tiny amount of tincture of the roots for certain conditions.)

Around 30 species of birds eat the pokeberries: https://westboroughlandtrust.org/nn/nn145

Many species of birds eat beautyberries, too: https://garden.org/ideas/view/wildflowers/147/All-About-American-Beautyberry/
(also at this link is the bug repellant info I talked about)
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We have beauty berry bushes all over the pale here. One near the GHouse is full of berries now.
 
Weedygarden said:
It is beautiful jelly, Dutchs.
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Thank you. Odd that it turns such a pretty color and the odd taste turns very nice after cooking and making it jelly. Actually I may have done something not quite right. It's not totally jelled. It's a bit runny but tastes delicious. I get berries in spring and summer so I'll try again in the summer and be more careful about how I do it. I think I added the pectin but didn't boil a second time. I'll still use it. It soaks nicely into a toasted piece of helathnut or multi grain toast. With a bit of butter it's soooooooooo good!
 
Anyone know the botanical name for the wild potato vine ? This terribly invasive vine has thorns that grow as it does. Some as big as lions claws.
And the vine can get as big as small tree. Only tree they don't weaken or destroy is the cedars here.
 
Meerkat said:
Anyone know the botanical name for the wild potato vine ? This terribly invasive vine has thorns that grow as it does. Some as big as lions claws.
And the vine can get as big as small tree. Only tree they don't weaken or destroy is the cedars here.
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I need several pictures to hazard a guess. There is a wild potato vine native to the southeast. It's a dainty little thing with a tasty tuber. I don't have any idea what you're calling a potato vine.
 
Peanut said:
I need several pictures to hazard a guess. There is a wild potato vine native to the southeast. It's a dainty little thing with a tasty tuber. I don't have any idea what you're calling a potato vine.
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Peanut, dainty is nowhere near what this thing could be called. It has thorns all over it and the vine can get as big as a forearm. When you get near the thorns it is like they grab onto to you. And they burn. Thank goodness I'm nor allergic to them.

I googled but can't find anything. I'll call county extension .
 
@Meerkat I think you are dealing with an invasive species. I went through the southeastern flora data base and what you describe wasn't in there.

With one notable exception, Smilax sp. 300 or so species world wide. It's a type of briar. The larger species usually have a good sized tuber in it's root system. I've seen them the diameter of my thumb but not arm sized.
 
Peanut said:
@Meerkat I think you are dealing with an invasive species. I went through the southeastern flora data base and what you describe wasn't in there.

With one notable exception, Smilax sp. 300 or so species world wide. It's a type of briar. The larger species usually have a good sized tuber in it's root system. I've seen them the diameter of my thumb but not arm sized.
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Peanut these things get really think and the 'potato's ' go really deep . The bigger the trunk the bigger the thorns. They climb to top of trees and deform them or sometimes even kill them.
we have dealt with them since we moved here.
 
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