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American pokeweed
American pokeweed
Phytolacca americana
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
Perennial
Size
Medium
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Temperate forest
Range
North America
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Toxins
Status
Common

About

American pokeweed is a bold native perennial with dramatically thick magenta-red stalks that can reach 3 meters tall; its ink-dark berry clusters are toxic to humans but eagerly devoured by mockingbirds and catbirds.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Caryophyllales
Family
Phytolaccaceae
Genus
Phytolacca
Species
Phytolacca americana