Pokeweed
Poisonous to livestock when consumed.
- Pokeweed (Phytolaccaceae family):
- Phytolacca americana L.
- EPPO code:
- PHTAM
- Other names:
- Inkweed, pokeberry
Species information
- Lifecycle:
- Perennial.
- Propagation:
- Reproduces by seed.
- Emergence:
- Germination and emergence have been observed throughout the spring, summer and fall, with fall seemingly the most common time for emergence in cultivated fields.
- Habitat:
- Native to Canada, pokeweed is found in meadows, at the edge of woodlots, and in fencerows and waste areas in Southern Ontario.
- Competitiveness:
- The juice inside pokeweed berries will stain crop seeds and reduce its quality and value.
- Toxicity:
- The plant is very poisonous to livestock. If consumed, pokeweed may cause vomiting, paralysis and even death.
Identification clues
Seedling
- First leaves:
- The leaves and stem of pokeweed are fleshy and smooth in appearance.
- Mature leaves:
- With an alternate leaf orientation, the lower leaves are wide, large and long, while the upper leaves are dark green and small with shorter leafstalks and pink-green veins.
Mature plant
- Stem:
- Erect, long (up to 3 m), smooth, hairless, “juicy-looking” and pink to bright red in colour.
- Flowers:
- The plant’s flowers have no petals, but five petal-like sepals that are green, white to pinkish in slender racemes or clusters at the ends of main stems and branches.
- Fruit:
- Pokeweed produces purplish berries that exude a crimson juice.
- Roots:
- Perennial taproot.
- Identification tip:
- Pokeweed plants are distinguished by a soft, fleshy appearance and the flat, juicy, purple berries in a spike at the ends of smooth stems.
![Young plant in mid-July that has emerged from a perennial taproot](https://www.ontario.ca/files/2022-11/omafra-weed-id-pokeweed-figure-1-en-1100x1089-2022-04-01-v1.jpg)
![The smooth and hairless reddish purple stem](https://www.ontario.ca/files/2022-11/omafra-weed-id-pokeweed-figure-2-en-1000x1100-2022-04-01-v1.jpg)
![A 5 m tall flowering plant during mid-July](https://www.ontario.ca/files/2022-11/omafra-weed-id-pokeweed-figure-3-en-893x1100-2022-04-01-v1.jpg)
![A close up of the flower prior to the formation of berries](https://www.ontario.ca/files/2022-11/omafra-weed-id-pokeweed-figure-4-en-1100x1095-2022-04-01-v1.jpg)
![The seed head consisting of several berries, which range from immature (green) to mature (purple)](https://www.ontario.ca/files/2022-11/omafra-weed-id-pokeweed-figure-5-en-1100x683-2022-04-01-v1.jpg)
Updated: August 16, 2023
Published: January 13, 2023