fran wrote:
sounds like pokeberry. don't think its edible.


It is edible. That's why it's sometimes know as poke salad.

The young shoots are a traditional early spring green. They should be
boiled in several changes of water. There are old farmers around here that
still gather it and bring it to market, and I've prepared and eaten it
several times. It was tasty, along the lines of asparagus.

HOWEVER, lately I've read that, along with sassafras and comfrey, new
research puts poke in the category of potentially toxic. And the mature
plant, and berries, are definitely not recommended.

I still think it's a very attractive plant, especially when the berries are
ripe, and when it's growing along the wayside. I weed it out of the garden,
but the habits of birds being what they are, there's always some around.

Cheers,
Sue

--

Zone 6, South-central PA

fran wrote:
sounds like pokeberry. don't think its edible.


It is edible. That's why it's sometimes know as poke salad.

Margaret Bopp wrote in message ...
fran wrote:
sounds like pokeberry. don't think its edible.


It is edible. That's why it's sometimes know as poke salad.

Just barely. If it's just a little too old, it's also a fierce
laxative.

My grandmother told of going to a one-room school in a community where
poke salet was popular. Kids who had eaten this stuff were seated
together in a far corner, because the others couldn't stand the smell.

--
Chris Green

Christopher Green said:

My grandmother told of going to a one-room school in a community where
poke salet was popular. Kids who had eaten this stuff were seated
together in a far corner, because the others couldn't stand the smell.

You sure she wasn't confusing it with that *other* wild spring green, ramps?
Beause I know that ramps (a wild onion or leek, Allium tricocum) will make you
but I've don't remember ever hearing about reeking from poke salet.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordL...s/pokeweed.htm



Christopher Green wrote:

Margaret Bopp wrote in message ...

fran wrote:

sounds like pokeberry. don't think its edible.


It is edible. That's why it's sometimes know as poke salad.


Just barely. If it's just a little too old, it's also a fierce
laxative.

My grandmother told of going to a one-room school in a community where
poke salet was popular. Kids who had eaten this stuff were seated
together in a far corner, because the others couldn't stand the smell.

http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/new...june21b02.html

The above site explains why it's probably not a good idea to eat poke salad,
even though thousands have done it and lived. It does appear that the
knowledgable people in the past at least understood that it was vital to eat
the shoots only when very young, and only when boiled thoroughly, the water
discarded and boiled some more. That being said, we consume a lot of plants
which have trace amounts of natural toxins - including peanuts and
potatoes - and in much larger quantities than most of us will ever consume
poke salad.

sounds like pokeberry. don't think its edible.

Poison control says it's poisonous to eat the berries.