pokeweed

[pohk-weed]

noun

1. any of numerous and usually toxic plants of the genus Phytolacca, including P. americana, of North America, having juicy purple berries and a purple root used in folk medicine, and young shoots resembling asparagus: pokeweed species vary greatly in height, with some growing to about 3.2 feet (1 meter) and others as tall as 82 feet (25 meters).

pokeweed

/ ˈpəʊkˌwiːd /

noun

1. Also called: inkberry. Sometimes shortened to: poke. a tall North American plant, Phytolacca americana, that has small white flowers, juicy purple berries, and a poisonous purple root used medicinally: family Phytolaccaceae

Word History and Origins

Origin of pokeweed¹

An Americanism dating back to 1745–55; poke ⁴ + weed ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pokeweed¹

C18 poke, shortened from Algonquian puccoon plant used in dyeing, from pak blood

Example Sentences

We scurried after it and hid in a thicket of dead vines and pokeweed.

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In his case, those included elderberry bushes, beautyberry bushes, pokeweed, native oak, pine and sweet gum.

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The Blackberry Trail, for example, is lined with pokeweed and pawpaw trees, and the Riverview Trail is, naturally, the place to go for striking river views.

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“I have a garbage bag full of pokeweed in my studio! I swear, I just wrote on my calendar, ‘Learn how to make pokeberry dye.’

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In the park, Willow pointed out mugwort and a pokeweed bush teeming with goldfinches.

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