Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

We have another pokeweed update. This is a comparative post, showing, once again, how fast this weed grows and changes. Around northwest Louisiana you might come across a pokeweed plant that looks like a four-feet tall shrub with pink stems, covered in dark black round fruits. Those big pokeweed bushes are older; they are growing from an older root system. The pokeweed plant pictured below is young. It volunteered sometime recently, perhaps even this summer, in a wet, sunny location near the arboretum drainage channel. It has quickly taken root, grown, and produced fruit. 

 Remember ― all parts of this plant are considered poisonous. 

This is the pokeweed on August 30th. We see a few white flowers and developing fruits. We see a little pink on the stems.

On September 11th, the stems are now hot pink and there are several ripe fruits. It's a very interesting  specimen! This little plant is also still producing new flowers. Perhaps this will be a permanent fixture in the arboretum landscape.

Pokeweed update (Phytolacca americana)

The plant is about the same size as last week. Except for the fruiting part!

These alien-looking fruits are developing without interruption, and now we can see the characteristic pink stem.

To see what this plant looked like last week, click here.
 

Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

 

At the bottom of the arboretum drainage near the Fitness Center, an interesting, potentially poisonous weed popped up in a bed devoted to a few fringe trees (Chionanthus virginicus). The weed rapidly grew, started flowering, and producing fruits. That's a rapid colonizer.

This is pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), a local favorite, celebrated each year in Blanchard at the Poke Salad Festival. This was formerly a very important species in this area, so it's worth paying attention to. It volunteered in a sunny, wet location, next to the concrete channel that runs under the Fitness Center ramp. This is a relatively small pokeweed plant, only standing about two feet tall. Other individuals of this species can grow several feet high.

 

In the photograph, we see one long raceme with a few white flowers and two developing white racemes.

  

The green, rounded structures are immature fruits. They are expected to turn dark purple or black. Unfortunately, these photos do not capture the characteristic pink-purple stems. If our volunteer pokeweed stays in the game, more photos will be posted.