OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Phytolacca americana   FAMILY Phytolaccaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phytolacca americana var. americana   FAMILY Phytolaccaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)

Phytolacca americana var. americana

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Phytolacca americana var. americana

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 068-01-001:

Phytolacca americana   FAMILY Phytolaccaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Phytolacca americana

 

COMMON NAME:
Common Pokeweed, Poke


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970    swus_page_149

        

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

JK Marlow    jkm150224_705

February    Greenville County    SC

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

JK Marlow    jkm100427_001

April    Greenville County    SC

Leaf blades elliptic, ovate-elliptic, or ovate-lanceolate, per Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981).

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

Roxanna Martin    rlm51511_16

May    Spartanburg County    SC

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

JK Marlow    jkm200625_6077

June    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

Bloom where you are planted...

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

JK Marlow    jkm0407b_05

July    Greenville County    SC

Roadside

Smooth stems are strongly tinged with red-purple, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

Roxanna Martin    rlm7210_167

July    Spartanburg County    SC

5-30 stamens that are as long as the sepals. Superior ovary, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

Roxanna Martin    rlm7210_180

July    Spartanburg County    SC

Fruiting pedicels usually 7-12mm long (longer than those of P. rigida), per Weakley's Flora (2012).

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_p_americana_2

July        

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_p_americana_2b

July        

Flowers have 5 round greenish-white or pinkish petaloid sepals [no petals], per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

Steve Marlow    snm9807_17a

July    Greenville County    SC

Said to grow to 10' tall, but that's 3 yardsticks end to end that I'm holding.

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

JK Marlow    jkm200808_6956

August    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

Flowers, developing fruit, and ripe fruit - all at once!

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

Roxanna Martin    rlm82308_019

August    Spartanburg County    SC

Fruiting raceme divergent or drooping. Berries once used as a source of ink, per Weakley's Flora (2020).

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

JK Marlow    jkm061022_007

October    Pickens County    SC

Roadside

image of Phytolacca americana, Common Pokeweed, Poke

Paul Thompson    pstphytolacca_americana2

Month Unknown        

Raceme may be erect in flower, or divergent or drooping in flower and fruit, per Weakley's Flora (2012).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Phytolacca americana   FAMILY Phytolaccaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Phytolacca americana var. americana   FAMILY Phytolaccaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Phytolacca americana var. americana

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Phytolacca americana var. americana

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 068-01-001:
Phytolacca americana   FAMILY Phytolaccaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Phytolacca americana

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1079

Forb
Perennial

Habitat: In a wide variety of natural and disturbed habitats, usually associated with exposed mineral soil, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (uncommon in SC Coastal Plain, rare in GA Coastal Plain)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
Petioles 1-5cm long
Margins entire or sometimes crisped [wavy or crinkled]

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Greenish-white
5 sepals
Petals absent
5-30 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual

Flowers in racemes

FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Purplish-black
Berry

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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