Health Benefits and Uses of Pokeberry: A Comprehensive Guide

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.

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Poke Herb Photos

Posted by Robert Henry (Ten Mile , Tn) on 08/08/2017
★★★★★

DAVE,,,,,,,,, poke sallet is what our ancestors cleaned out with. Poke sallet in the fall and sassafras roots in the spring. You have to boil and pour off the water several times least you spend the day in the John. Usually the poke greens were mixed with scrambled eggs. We have poke at our lake home but the berries are still green and have not started to turn. I would guess that Mama's picture was from last fall. Birds, raccoons and opossums gorge on the berries. They swallow the seed but do not crush it and they scour it out to start a new plant. Same thing happens to poison ivy berries and it the reason it is so hard to control. It looks as if they had already hit this bush. I do appreciate the pictures, as wild herbs and plants are not my forte.

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Poke Herb Photos

Posted by Dave (Fountain Inn, Sc) on 08/08/2017
★★★★★

Hey there Mama to Many;

You didn't mention in your medicinal review of Polk, that you can EAT it....it is so good. Young leaves as you describe, cooked like you would spinach. Yum. With cornbread of course. (NOT older leaves which apparently begin to turn toxic. Once I nibbled on an older leaf...just a bare taste, and got a bit nauseous.)

Poke Herb Photos

Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 08/07/2017
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Here is a close up of pokeweed.

Poke is tall now in TN; some plants are 6 feet tall!

This picture shows the bright magenta berry stem. Most of these berries have been picked clean by the birds. They will digest all but the seeds and then pass the seeds along for new poke plants next spring. The seed is the most dangerous part.

The green berries are not ripe. The deep purple berries are ripe. Some people will swallow a berry a day and let the seed pass through (the seed is the most toxic part, other than the root.) The berry a day is for arthritis.

Poke root tincture is used by some for Lyme disease, a DROP at a time. (Not a dropperful.)
Poke root oil is used for breast tumors.

In the spring the leaves used to be boiled in three changes of water for a "tonic" food. If the plant is taller than a foot, the plants are too old to harvest the leaves, so they say.

Poke berries make a fun homemade ink for children, with supervision of course.

Poke is a perfect example of "the dose makes the poison." Poke is classified as poisonous, but when used carefully by those who know what they are doing it can be a great benefit.

~Mama to Many~