Just as the summer garden is producing enormous amounts of vegetables and herbs, native plants that we often call weeds are also abundant in August. One of the more aggressive weeds in the yard and garden is certainly pokeweed.
Also known as poke root, poke salad (or poke sallet), poke berry, poke, Virginia poke, inkberry, cancer root, American nightshade and pigeon berry, pokeweed is a perennial herb that is native to eastern North America and cultivated throughout the world for reasons that are unknown to me.
It is a hideously invasive plant and can only be killed with the help of a super hero or a divine miracle. It can grow to a height of more than 10-feet during the summer and dies back to the root each winter.
I use that term lightly. This plant never dies. It just gets stronger and more evil each season. The berries and dried roots are used in herbal remedies and yet the plant is considered to be poisonous.
Some research has shown that a protein contained in pokeweed, called pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP), has anti-tumor effects in mice and laboratory studies. In test tube studies, PAP has also shown action against viruses such as herpes and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Clinical trials have not yet determined whether these effects apply to humans.
All parts of the mature pokeweed plant contain chemically active substances such as phytolaccine, formic acid, tannin, and resin acid. All parts of the plant are at least mildly poisonous when eaten, although the root is most toxic.
It would be terrific if this villainous perennial were found to be useful in some way. In my garden and yard it is nothing but trouble.
Ive asked neighbors on both sides to resist the temptation to spray the pokeweed with popular weed killers.
They havent listened and the plants have only gotten stronger, taller and more menacing as the summer progresses. Clusters of purple berries weigh heavy on the dark green stalks. The underside of the leaves become red as the plants blood-colored juice creeps ever outward.
OK, so I exaggerate a bit. The plant is not evil and in some cases shows signs of being useful. It can be killed with non-selective herbicides but you know I would never recommend their use.
Glyphosate sold under the name Round Up and others with smaller advertising budgets, is considered by many authorities to be more environmentally friendly than alternative products, but there is a great deal of controversy regarding its effect on humans and the environment.
With this and with any herbicide, follow the label instructions and cautions exactly. Glyphosate will kill most plants within a few days, generally breaks down within two weeks after application, and does not tend to migrate into the soil. I wonder where exactly it goes if it does not tend to migrate into the soil. Perhaps it stays in the dead plant and migrates into our landfills.
I find the best way to control pokeweed is by pulling, pulling, occasional swearing and more pulling. The tap root is long and stubborn and may require a shovel or backhoe.
Most of us only have a shovel so give it your all. Do not put pokeweed in the compost pile. Wrap it tightly in plastic and ship it to the Arctic Circle or contact NASA and see if it can go on the next mission to space.
It might actually grow there. If you must, send it to the landfill where it will decompose with all the other things we simply had to have.
