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Pokeweed is a large, perennial native plant that grows up to eight feet tall. The leaves are large, simple alternate, with large stems. When the plant ages, the stems and leaf veins become red tinged. At maturity, the drooping white flowers turn into shiny purple or black berries.

Warning: Berries, roots, and mature plants are considered poisonous, therefore, are best used as new, young growth. Also, any red-tinged plant material should be discarded. To avoid possible collecting of part of the toxic root, do not cut below ground level. Pokeweed was one the first plants I discovered when I began to learn how to forage off the land.

Pokeweed is found throughout the United States in disturbed soils, often along road sides and at the edge of woods. Its species is Phytolacca americana and is called by several names to include inkberry, poke sallet, pigeonberry and pokeberry. It is a perennial and grows 6-8 feet tall with a greenish, white flower color and blooms in the summer.

Pokeweed's shoots are found during the spring around the old pokeweed stalks. Tender young shoots less than eight inches tall can be peeled, parboiled in two changes of water several minutes each, boiled in a third water until tender and served like asparagus. The poisonous roots can be gathered after frost, cut into six inch lengths and planted in sandy dirt in a heated space. They will provide shoots for several months.

The stalks are used during the spring. Young stalks before one foot tall, with leaves removed and before red tinged, can be cut and rolled in corn meal and fried like okra. They can also be pickled.

Young leaves are gathered during the spring, taken from stalks less than one foot tall. When parboiled in two changes of water of several minutes each and boiled in a third water until tender, they are good, especially with added butter, vinegar and bacon bits. Another favorite method is to add slices of hard boiled eggs or to scramble several eggs with the greens and sprinkle with vinegar. A large quantity should be gathered because pokeweed does lose bulk during cooking. To freeze, parboil leaves twice, cool, pat dry, and place them in plastic bags.

Most are amazed at the versatility of wild edibles. Others will remember those days walking in the fields with a grandparent looking for their special spot to pick a preferred wild food. One bit of warning is important, perhaps, here: Avid foraging fans aren't the safest drivers! One of my biggest problems is balancing driving safety with watching for roadside plants. Keep things in perspective as you enjoy a new experience and a beneficial hobby.

The above information was condensed from Ken Larsen's book God's Free Harvest - Successful Harvesting of Nature's Free Wild Foods.