Unknown plant

Other plants we have or landscape elements like ponds.

Moderator: needmore

Post Reply
Thuja
Posts: 959
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 1:34 pm
Location info: 0
Location: Wisconsin, USA zone 4b;
1951: -37*F;
1996: -29*F;
2005: -10*F;
2006: -17*F;
2007: -17*F.

Unknown plant

Post by Thuja »

Anybody know what this is?
Image
Image
Image
It gets about 8 feet high before frost kills it. The seed came in a pot of P. nuda that Booking sent me from Rutgers a few years back.
--Mike
Image
User avatar
Iowaboo
Posts: 3121
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:21 pm
Location info: 32
Location: West Iowa
Contact:

RE: Unknown plant

Post by Iowaboo »

Its pokeweed. I have one of them, but came up small this year. Not sure what its problem is. But it had berries again. supposedly, birds eat them, but I hadn't noticed such. Seems like they shrivel up and never get noticed by birds.
User avatar
David
Posts: 1495
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:42 pm
Location info: 30
Location: Middle Tennessee (Murfreesboro) USDA Zone 6b/7a Record low Jan 1966 -14*F Frost free April 21-Oct.21
Contact:

RE: Unknown plant

Post by David »

Hello Mike.
It is indeed pokeweed. The small immature leaves make an excellent green, and was/is considered a spring tonic by the old timers because of its iron content. The rest of the plant has a mild gastric toxin and is probably responsible for the purgative effects experienced by those that do not parboil the leaves prior to eating. Pokeweed has an excellent flavor, and our family has always prepared it by parboiling and then scambling it and eggs or pork brains all together. I know it sounds strange to some, but poor people ate what nature provided, and were thankful for it.

Birds love the berries and seem unaffected by the toxin. They spread them everywhere, but it is easily controlled by pulling it early.

Indigenous peoples used the leaves for food, the berries as ink, and the root as a medicine.
David Arnold
Middle Tennessee Bamboo Farm
USDA zone 6b
User avatar
Roy
Posts: 3285
Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 3:15 pm
Location info: 6
Location: Tampa, Florida, USA,............Florida's SunCoast <Zone 9B-10A>

Re: RE: Unknown plant

Post by Roy »

David wrote:Hello Mike.
It is indeed pokeweed. The small immature leaves make an excellent green, and was/is considered a spring tonic by the old timers because of its iron content. The rest of the plant has a mild gastric toxin and is probably responsible for the purgative effects experienced by those that do not parboil the leaves prior to eating. Pokeweed has an excellent flavor, and our family has always prepared it by parboiling and then scambling it and eggs or pork brains all together. I know it sounds strange to some, but poor people ate what nature provided, and were thankful for it.

Birds love the berries and seem unaffected by the toxin. They spread them everywhere, but it is easily controlled by pulling it early.

Indigenous peoples used the leaves for food, the berries as ink, and the root as a medicine.
Poke Salad Annie? Anyone remember that one?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokeweed
--------------------------
Roy Rogers
Southern Tampania de la Floridana Universidad (STFU)
STFU Motto: All Bamboos are not Created Equal; @ STFU, the Search Continues
**********
:wave: ROY'S BAMBOO LIST
User avatar
rfgpitt
Posts: 1021
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:28 am
Location info: 24
Location: Zone 6a - SW of Pittsburgh - 15317

RE: Unknown plant

Post by rfgpitt »

I found them very difficult to remove. They have potato like roots/tubers and are hard to kill with sprays. At my old place I had a few in my side yard that just kept coming back until I dug out the roots. (I did it in the fall and had purple boots for a while from the berries :evil: )
Rick
Thuja
Posts: 959
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 1:34 pm
Location info: 0
Location: Wisconsin, USA zone 4b;
1951: -37*F;
1996: -29*F;
2005: -10*F;
2006: -17*F;
2007: -17*F.

RE: Unknown plant

Post by Thuja »

Thanks for the ID and all the great info. It's good to finally know what it is. When times get rough enough I'll give the recipes a try, but I'll leave out the pork brains until the depression is truly upon us.

The plant itself is attractive, looking somewhat tropical in appearance.
--Mike
Image
User avatar
David
Posts: 1495
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:42 pm
Location info: 30
Location: Middle Tennessee (Murfreesboro) USDA Zone 6b/7a Record low Jan 1966 -14*F Frost free April 21-Oct.21
Contact:

RE: Unknown plant

Post by David »

Rick-
The key is to pull them as soon as you ID them, because as you say digging them up is the only effective way to get rid of mature plants.

Mike - My dad lets them grow wherever they come up and picks leaves off them all summer. My only concern for leaving them around the house is that small children might eat the berries and end up with a super belly ache.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokeweed

BTW- Pork brains are best enjoyed by those who do not know they are eating pork brains. Grandmother would sneak them into the scrambled eggs, and it was not until I was older that I knew why her scrambled eggs had such a distinct flavor. They are actually quite good if you can get past their origin :lol: .
David Arnold
Middle Tennessee Bamboo Farm
USDA zone 6b
User avatar
needmore
Posts: 5008
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:14 pm
Location info: 0
Bamboo Society Membership: ABS - America
Location: Kea'au, HI

RE: Unknown plant

Post by needmore »

The berries are/were used in ink 'recipes' think stamp pads etc.
Brad Salmon, zone 12B Kea'au, HI
http://www.needmorebamboo.com
User avatar
David
Posts: 1495
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2006 6:42 pm
Location info: 30
Location: Middle Tennessee (Murfreesboro) USDA Zone 6b/7a Record low Jan 1966 -14*F Frost free April 21-Oct.21
Contact:

RE: Unknown plant

Post by David »

The US constitution was written with ink made from fermented Poke Weed berries. Yes. Really. 8)
David Arnold
Middle Tennessee Bamboo Farm
USDA zone 6b
User avatar
Iowaboo
Posts: 3121
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:21 pm
Location info: 32
Location: West Iowa
Contact:

RE: Unknown plant

Post by Iowaboo »

and before that, I'd imagine natives used it as war paint
dependable
Posts: 1323
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 12:28 am
Location info: 0
Location: Island off Cape Cod Massacusetts
Contact:

RE: Unknown plant

Post by dependable »

If you have one in a fertile , moist site, it can grow to be an interesting 8' by 8' perenial that looks like a pretty shrub.
Post Reply