Pokeweed
Phytolacca americana
Also known as
Coakum, Pigeon Berry, Pocan Bush, American Pokeweed, American Nightshade, Cancer Jalap, Chon Grass, Cokan, Crimson-Berry Plant, Crowberry, Dyer's Grapes, Garget, Inkberry, Poke, Pokeberry, Poke Root, Poke Salad, Red Ink Plant, Red Weed, Scoke, Skoke, Virginian Poke, Common Pokeweed, Red ink plant, Virginian pokeweed
Full Sun
Moderate watering
Frost Hardy
H7
RHS hardiness
-20°C
Minimum temperature
Expected size
Height | Spread | |
|---|---|---|
4m | Max | 1.5m |
2.5m | Min | 1m |
3 years to reach maturity
Flowering
spring
summer
autumn
winter
More images of Pokeweed
Pokeweed Overview
Phytolacca americana is a herbaceous perennial in the pokeweed family, Phytolaccaceae. It produces oval to lance-shaped leaves, which develop attractive purple colouration in the autumn. The interesting flowers are white-pink in colour, these are produced on a triangular raceme structure. A raceme is a form of unbranched inflorescence where the oldest flowers are formed at the base and new blooms from the tip as the plant grows. Flowers appear from mid-summer to early autumn, leading onto red-black berry fruits in the autumn.
How to propagate Pokeweed
Seed
Sow seed in spring.
Special features of Pokeweed
Attractive flowers
Attractive leaves
Attractive fruits
Other uses of Pokeweed
Ornamental, fruit, foliage. Whole plant is poisonous if eaten.