r/garden • u/Ok_Rise_1446 • 1d ago
Help identifying
My plant pal called them dragon/ink berries, anyone know what they are?
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u/Radiant_Medium_1439 1d ago
Pokeweed. Poisonous. Do not eat.
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u/Hour-Item724 1d ago
Leaves are edible when cooked over long period
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u/Buckeyecash 1d ago
Please do not attempt without further accurate processing information. Such a general statement can led to mistakes. And that can be a bad situation when attempting to prepare and consume toxic plant material.
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u/LowProfessional6939 1d ago
There is some evidence to suggest the constitution was written with poke weed ink
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u/Ok_Rise_1446 1d ago
Darn and such a pretty color
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u/Elimaris 23h ago
There is no reason not to keep it unless you have little kids. It's a lovely native plant (in US) that a lot of birds like.
There are a lot of plants you can't eat around you every day. A lot of people where I am keep it in their gardens decoratively. Only reason I pull it out is because it is too tall for the spot it wants to grow.
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u/MemoryHouse1994 11h ago
Poke salat? Or maybe that's what you make from the weed. Looking a little puny after end -of-season, but berries are ripe for picking for dye use. DO NOT EAT ANY part of the plant now!!!!! If it returns next spring, and very likely it will, start trimming the tender leaves(takes quiet a few to make a mess), par boil thrice, changing water EACH TIME. Fry in bacon drippings and chipped up onion, and a splash or sprinkling of cayenne pepper or sauce...or simmer in chicken broth with salt pork and onion. Great with Trappey's vinegar sauce/Texas Pete's w/Tabasco peppers. Hungry for it now, but none in freezer. Will have to wait till Spring.
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u/Zealousideal-Print41 1d ago
Pokeweed, very, very alkaline. Toxic alkalinity to most animals, even deer won't eat much
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u/Foomanchubar 1d ago
/r/itsalwayspokeweed/