POKEWEED

     Pokeweed is a unique, beautiful plant native to eastern North America.  It is a common, perennial species of sunny, disturbed, human-made habitats, including hedgerows between fields, woodland edges, roadsides, railway shoulders, abandoned fields and similar environs.  Poke is an interesting, bush-like plant that annually grows from underground rootstock, sometimes up to nine feet tall in one growing season.  Some poke can even resemble small trees in one year's development.  

     Early each May, one or more red poke stems sprout above-ground from each set of perennial roots.  And as each set of roots gets older through the years, its visible red stems become thicker, some up to two inches across at their bases.  

     Those red, main stems produce broad leaves.  And during June they develop flower buds on several tapering, dangling, red shoots off the main stems.  Flower buds at the base of each stem open first and, after insect pollination, develop into small, greenish-white blossoms.  And succeeding flowers open out each tapering stem as it grows.  Eventually, each dangling, red stalk has ripe berries at its base, green berries next, and flowers, all at the same time.   

     Each little bloom has five sepals, and no petals, on a short, red stem attached to the dangling, red stalk.  The resulting green berries are hard and slightly flat.  But as each berry develops, it becomes soft, juicy and shiny purple-black, starting toward the end of July.  Those juicy berries are about a quarter of an inch across, and each one has six to twelve berries.  And they are attractive among red stems and stalks.

     Mourning doves, northern mockingbirds, northern cardinals, American robins and other kinds of birds ingest poke berries each autumn, into winter.  Those birds digest the berries' pulp, but pass many of the seeds in droppings as the birds travel across the countryside.  Thus poke is spread far and wide.  

     To me, pokeweed is most beautiful in autumn, especially when bathed in sunlight on a crisp fall day.  Now, in addition to the red stems and deep-purple berries, poke leaves turn red, adding to the plants' beauties in fall, and to the beauties of local farmland.

     Poke is an attractive, interesting plant, particularly in autumn.  It feeds wildlife and adds beauty to disturbed soil in farmland.  It is a native species well worth knowing.  

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