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Phytolacca americana
Pokeweed
American Pokeweed
Poke Sallet
Florida native
A common plant of hammock margins and disturbed sites throughout nearly all of Florida. The range includes the eastern half of the United States, westward across the southern states plus the west coast states. Pokeweed is also found in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.
This large herbaceous plant can reach 3m (10 ft.) tall and usually has purplish-red stems. The alternate leaves are entire and from 10-35cm (4 to 14 in.) long. The small white to pinkish flowers are in a raceme from 13-30cm (5-12 in.) long and often drooping. The fruit is a purple-black berry on pedicels longer than the size of the berry.
Maritime pokeweed - Phytolacca rigida or Phytolacca americana var. rigida - has flowering racemes that are less than 13.5cm (5-1/3 in.) long and typically erect instead of drooping. The fruit pedicels are less than 7mm (1/4 in) long.
Phytolacca americana is a member of the Phytolaccaceae - Pokeweed family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
Wildflowers of the Southeastern United States profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Sep 18, 2018
