Saving poke seeds for planting?

[booger]

I have been searching for days! Apparently, this isn't a common thing to do. I want to harvest some seeds from my wild poke to send to someone but am not sure of the best way to do this.

Do I just pick the berries when they're purple? Or wait until they're dropping? Do I clean off the berry mess? Or do a fermenting thing like with tomato seeds? I'm going to mail these to someone and I don't think they'd appreciate the smooshed berry disaster if I were to send the whole berries.

 

[Deemy]

Booger, are you looking for me? If not, get me some too!

 

[ShepInTheValley]

Booger, I haven't heard of wild poke... what is it? Do you have a picture of it?

 

[hughmanity]

Try This


http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/specialty/pokeweed01.html

Pokeweed in Your Garden

**Pokeweed Graphic

Pokeweed, pokeberry, poke or pigeonberry (Phytolocca americana) is a hardy, native perennial herb that was used by American Indians as a salve and a cure for rheumatism. However, today, Americans know it as a weed growing wild in pastures and gardens and along fencerows and roadsides.

The roots, berries and older stem parts of pokeweed are poisonous, but the young tender leaves are edible, says Mary Beth Musgrove, a horticulturist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. The leaves are best when harvested at 5 to 6 inches long. Cut young pokeweed shoots in the spring the same way you harvest asparagus. Be careful not to cut any part of the poisonous root or older stem. Boiling the green leaves will remove some of the bitterness.

If you enjoy poke salad, plant some pokeweed in your home garden, says Musgrove. Pokeweed roots can be transplanted in late winter or can be grown from seed planted in early spring. Pokeweed blooms from July to September.

To propagate from seed, collect the purple berries and crush them in water. Allow the seeds to sit in the water for a few days. The good seeds will settle to the bottom. Spread seeds out to dry; store in a cool, dry location.

Soak pokeweed seeds in sulfuric acid to break dormancy and germination. After soaking seeds for 5 minutes, wash them under running water. Allow seeds to dry thoroughly before planting. Cover seeds lightly when planting. Seedlings can be transported into the garden after the chance of frost has passed. Set them at least 3 feet apart.

 

[hughmanity]

Here is a pic. If this doesn't load properly just do a google image search on pokeweed

 

[A.T.Hagan]

Were it me I'd just wait until the berries were completely dull dark purple then let them dry into raisins as they usually do on the plant. The seeds seem to be pretty tough because we get poke coming up in all sorts of places, especially on the edge of burn piles.

.....Alan.

 

[booger]

Booger, are you looking for me? If not, get me some too!

Yep, it's for you.

Thanks, Hugh and Alan! That's the stuff. I searched for info forever and didn't come up with anything about saving the seeds. Got a couple of interesting porn sites, though.

 

[ShepInTheValley]

Thanks for the information. Wow... we may have this on our property. I've only seen one bush or set of vines on our top pasture, but I could find no one around here who could tell me what it was. I bit into a berry and initally it had a fruity flavor, but (thank God I was careful not to swallow) almost immediately my tongue and mouth started going numb. I of course, spit it out, and rinsed my mouth out over and over. I'd taken it over to the old farmer's to ask them if they knew what it was but they didn't. I profusely apologized for spitting in front of them, ROFL, but of course, they understood.

 

[rugmaker]

Booger, we have it growing all over. How bout putting up some recipes. Do you eat it raw in salads or cook it like spinach?

 

[Deemy]

When I was a kid in W.Va. they would have poke suppers doing all kinds of different foods from the poke plant...At that point in time I wouldn't even taste it but ate the ham they served with the meal. You all remember the song Poke Salad Annie???

 

[booger]

Rugmaker, you don't eat it raw. You get the poke when it's young then boil it 2 or 3 times, throwing away the water each time. Can't stand the stuff myself so I don't have any recipes. Most people I know, though, love it.

 

[Tadpole]

Rugmaker, the young shoots and leaves are edible after being properly treated.

They contain a water-soluble toxin that you remove by putting through three changes of boiling water. At first the water will look a little murky and reddish colored. The water in the second boiling will be pretty clear. The third boiling will produce clear water.

Drain off the water and serve. I like it just brushed with butter and salted, but I also like it the southern traditional way, topped with scrambled eggs. Only I add cheese and bacon bits, too!

The mature plant is dangerously poisonous, and the roots even more so.

I've read that an Indiana tradition is to just peel the stalks, roll them in cornmeal and fry them. I am a little leery of that method.

Edited to add this picture of poke shoots. I peel them before cooking when there is this much red on them.

 

[Tadpole]

I just thought of a documentary I saw one time that gave another good use for poke berries. It makes an enduring ink.

A lot of the Confederate soldiers wrote their letters with pokeberry ink.

 

[Brooks]

A highly toxic plant if you don't handle it right. Very common in this area, so it's a little amusing to me that someone would be looking for the seed.

Don't forget the song, "Poke Salad Annie"!

"If some of y'all never been down south too much, I'm gonna tell you a little about this so that you'll understand what I'm talkin' about. Down there we have a plant that grows out in the woods, and in the field looks somethin like a turnip green, and everybody calls it poke salad ... poke salad. Used to know a girl lived down there and she'd go out in the evenings and pick her a mess of it, carry it home and cook it for supper, cause that's about all they had to eat, but they did all right...

"Down in Lou'siana, where the alligators grow so mean, there lived a girl that I swear to the world, made the alligators look tame, Poke Salad Annie, Poke Salad Annie. Everybody said it was a shame, cause her Mama was a workin on the chain gang (a mean, vicious woman)...

"Every day 'fore suppertime, she'd go down by the truck patch, and pick her a mess o' poke salad and carry it home in a tote sack. Poke Salad Annie, the gators got your granny. Everybody said it was a shame, cause her Mama was a workin on the chain gang (a wretched, spiteful, straight razor totin' woman, Lord have mercy, pick me a mess of it)..."

 

[rugmaker]

That's a whole lot of work...

But I guess if you are starving and have tons of water it would be ok. I did live in the south, but I don't recall eating it. Maybe I'll just use the berries to tie-dye t-shirts.

 

[Lenore]

Poke weed grows all over the place up here. (CT)
I use the berries to make dye for staining my wood carvings. I mash up the berries in a mortar. The juice is a deep purple color but when brushed on Ash wood it comes out a gorgeous rose color. Be carefull if you use this dye as it stains everything! I never knew people eat it. I was told that its highly toxic.

 

[booger]

Checked the poke while I was out today and looks like it'll be a little while before they're ready for picking. Deemy, I'll send it as soon as it's ready. Did you want some sheepshire, too? Anyone else want any poke or sheepshire or ?? while I'm at it?

 

[Vicki]

I think I may want some poke seed booger. I will go check to see if I have some already but I don't believe I do. I was taught 1 or 2 drops of poke tincture will boost the immune system but it's poisonous with higher doses. I'll check into that further.

Vicki

 

[booger]

Vicki, no prob. The berries have just started turning purple not too long ago. I picked a branch of them today (all of those purple) but they're still plump and juicy. Brought them in and did the mushing in a cup thing. Will let them sit in the water for a few days and see what happens while I'm waiting for the millions of other berries to mature a bit more on the plants.

 

[Brooks]

I think I may want some poke seed booger. I will go check to see if I have some already but I don't believe I do. I was taught 1 or 2 drops of poke tincture will boost the immune system but it's poisonous with higher doses. I'll check into that further.

Adults are far more likely to poison themselves with wild plants than children are because adults are far more likely to be arrogant enough to think they know what they are dealing with. The child may still try it, but probably far less.

I have very unpleasant memories of helping a new batch of summer rangers do an edibles program on one of the Boston Harbor islands years ago. They knew I had been studying the plants there all summer. They didn't bother checking with me about what I had learned. First thing they did was to pull up the ONLY chicory plant on the island. Yeah, edible, but so much for that island's chicory. When I got after them about that they decided to switch to pokeweed. I blew a gasket on that one. The LAST thing they had any business doing was letting the public, which was NOT going to remember all the details, believe that poke was edible. They finally settled on something that they misidentified. Months later I figured out what it was and, fortunately, that it was not poisonous.

Please, DON'T screw around with pokeweed if you don't know what you are doing!!!!! DO spend SEVERAL seasons learning what may be edible in your area. Some percentage of the plants you ARE doing to misidentify, especially on the first pass at it.

 

[A.T.Hagan]

RIPE pokeberries are edible, but the seeds themselves are toxic so all-in-all it's probably better just to give them a pass and look at other edible berries because getting those seeds out is more trouble than it would be worth. The relative few berries I've ever sampled myself tasted awful anyway. It's one of those things where edible does not necessarily equate to palatable. Some works list palmetto berries as edible too, but I'd surely like to meet the man who'll ever willingly chew up and swallow a mouthful of them <i>twice.</i>

As for eating the greens and shoots it's not a big deal to remember how to cook them. Most people don't eat their collard, mustard, or turnip greens raw so cooking poke greens is not hard to remember. The toxin within the leaves breaks down in the first water by the time they're finally done. Like many greens it takes a bit of boiling to get them cooked down right.

The business of multiple changes of water is to reduce the strong flavor that poke greens can have especially if you're using any but the youngest leaves.

Rhubarb is pretty toxic itself if you eat anything but the cooked leaf stems. Tomato and potato vines are toxic as well as really green potatoes and even those that aren't so green for some folks.

There are certain herbal medicines that can be made from poke root, but there you really do need to know what you are doing because it is dangerous if mishandled.

The dried raw plant is still toxic so you want to make sure that pokeweed is not growing in your hayfield. That's about the only way to poison an animal with poke though, because I've seen many a barren horse lot with nothing but pokeweed and maybe some nettles growing in it. Grazing animals flat won't eat the stuff.

.....Alan.

 

[booger]

Rhubarb is pretty toxic itself if you eat anything but the cooked leaf stems.

So raw rhubarb stems are toxic? I ate pounds and pounds and pounds of it each year as a kid. Ate some cooked, too, but mostly loved it raw.

The dried raw plant is still toxic so you want to make sure that pokeweed is not growing in your hayfield. That's about the only way to poison an animal with poke though, because I've seen many a barren horse lot with nothing but pokeweed and maybe some nettles growing in it. Grazing animals flat won't eat the stuff.

.....Alan.

I have wondered about animals eating poke. All of our hogs and goats eat poke like it's going out of style (with no ill effects). Maybe it's only toxic to certain critters? Or maybe we just have critters with stomachs of steel and heads filled with rocks.

Thanks for the info, Alan and Brooks!

 

[A.T.Hagan]

So raw rhubarb stems are toxic? I ate pounds and pounds and pounds of it each year as a kid. Ate some cooked, too, but mostly loved it raw.

OK, OK, ya got me on that one. Amend my statement to just the leaf stems.

I have wondered about animals eating poke. All of our hogs and goats eat poke like it's going out of style (with no ill effects). Maybe it's only toxic to certain critters? Or maybe we just have critters with stomachs of steel and heads filled with rocks.

Thanks for the info, Alan and Brooks!

I've never seen a goat eat pokeweed myself, at least none of my grandfather's did. Can't say about pigs, but they're not grazing animals. Apparently they'd have to eat quite a lot for really serious symptoms to occur. It's the teratogenic-mutagenic properties that would most concern me with livestock.

Here's a few info sources to consider:

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/plant40.htm

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ecoph24.htm

There's more to be found, but my daughter is being needy again so I have to go.

.....Alan.

 

[booger]

On the rhubarb, I wasn't trying to be a smartbutt, was just wondering if I'm some sort of mutant as my parents always told me. Good to know it's okay to eat the stems raw afterall.

Thanks for those links! I hadn't seen the Purdue one. Interesting reading...

States that it is toxic to all animals but a low toxicity, mostly causing GI irritation. Doesn't sound too horrible in most cases but I'll definitely keep an eye out for it now. Especially since we seem to have animals without a lick of sense.

Animals do not voluntarily eat this plant unless there is no other forage available.

I'll print this out and show it to the goats and hogs today. Maybe they'll stop gulping it down every chance they get.

 

[Camasjune]

Just a note from the word police....It is called poke salet,

the word is SALET

not SALAD.

Let's say it together......POKE SALET.

 

[Vicki]

>>Please, DON'T screw around with pokeweed if you don't know what you are doing!!!!! DO spend SEVERAL seasons learning what may be edible in your area. Some percentage of the plants you ARE doing to misidentify, especially on the first pass at it.<<

Thank you for the concern Brooks. I realize you don't know me well enough but I would never take a chance without thoroughly knowing what I'm doing. I agree on mislabeling plants. When in doubt I leave it out. I thankfully have some great resources in the line of mentors that have been doing herbalism all of their lives. I understand where you are coming from and wouldn't recommend using poisonous plants or plant parts to anyone. I was just stating what I was taught about poke. Now I haven't done anymore studying on what part of the plant would be used or exactly how to go about it but for personal satisfaction I will find out from my teacher and I'll PM you about it if you'd like. Didn't want to cause a problem and I'm sure you are accomplished in plant medicine but I also know there are conservative herbalists and old style. Guess I was taught more old style.

Vicki

 

[Brooks]

Vicki, fortunately pokeweed, at least the mature plant, is fairly easily recognizable. I'd be interested in your posting what you can on the board if you learn more. That was just my usual kneejerk response, especially when I hear about pokeweed. My hope is that the folks who might be interested in wild plants for whatever purpose can start learning now. When TSHTF it's on the late side.

I really don't know much of anything about plant medicine, but I did get very good at plant identification on the particular island I was studying. At the time I was trying to work out a schedule for when the different species, on that island, might be expected to be in bud, in floor, in fruit. It meant finding them weekend after weekend. That meant I became very familiar with where they were located, and made it very easy at the beginning of subsequent seasons to find them again even when they were very young. That is something that would be very important for something like poke, because most of its uses (at least the edible ones) are the early season plant. By the time it is the big honking specimen with the beautiful red berries, it really shouldn't (AFAIK) be touched for that.

One thing I did learn from that edibles program is that some plants are "edible", some are "poisonous" and seemingly the vast majority are "inedible" but really only to the extent they don't taste good enough to bother with. So, except for mushrooms at least, it decreases the chances someone would do something really bonehead. I had in mind that the stalks of Canada Thistle, in between the spines, could be prepared like creamed celery, and that this would be a Good Thing (in helping to eradicate that pest). Well, creamed Canada Thistle stalk is not the sort of thing you would make mistake of having more than one or two mouthfuls. It just doesn't go down!

 

[Vicki]

Ok Brooks and especially booger (since I want you to carefully read the cautions regarding you're harvesting the seed!), here's what I have for some quick info.

This is what I have in my notes on Poke....

Poke Root - (Phytolacca americana) 1 to 2 drops per day boosts the immune system (becomes poisonous with more)
Also used for mastitis (infected breasts). 1 or 2 drops or 1/8 part of Poke Root in formulas acts as a catalyst.

Also in a few books I referrence gave this info:

David Hoffman (The Holistic Herbal) writes:

Poke Root has a wide range of uses and is a valuable addition to many holistic treatments. It may be seen primarily as a remedy for the use in infections of the upper respiratory tract, removing catarrh and aiding the cleansing of the lymphatic glands. It may be used for catarrh, tonsillitis, laryngitis, swollen glands, mumps, etc. It will be found of value in lymphatic problems elsewhere in the body and especially where it is longstanding. Care must be taken with this herb in large doses it is powerfully emetic and purgative. Externally, as a lotion or oinment, it may be used to rid the skin of scabies and other pests.
Part used: root.

Penelope Ody (Complete Guide of medicinal Herbs) writes;

Called Pocon by Native Americans, pokeroot was used mainly in two ways: as an emetic, and externally for skin diseases. The Delaware Indians took it as a heart stimulant and in Virginia it was regarded as a strong purgative. Even today Appalahian backwoodsmen chew the seeds and berries for arthritis - all the more remarkable because the fresh plant is very toxic. It arrived in Europe in the 19th century and is used as an important lymphatic cleanser.

Dried Root - used today as a lymphatic cleanser, particularly for mononycleosis and tonsillitis, the dried root can also be helpful for mastitis, and is added to rheumatic remedies. Externally, it is used occasionally for skin infections such as scabies and ringworm: it can also be applied in poultices to soothe ulcers, hemorrhoids and inflamed joints.

Berries - Generally described as "milder" in action than the root, the fresh and dried berries are toxic, so the Appalachian practice of chewing them is not recommended. In the past, they were used externally for skin complaints and in poultices for rheumatism. The juice was applied for ulcers and tumors, but is not particularly effective.

Caution * All parts of the fresh plant are toxic and can cause vomiting. Avoid growing pokeroot in the garden if you have young children, as fatalities have been reported. * The dried berries are toxic. * In large doses, the dried root is an extremely violent emetic (causes vomiting) and purgative. Do not exceed stated doses. * Avoid pokeroot in pregnancy, as it can cause fetal abnormalities.

And this was easy to copy and paste from a Cd Rom:

THE HERB MASTER (on CDRom)

POKEWEED
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
(Phytolacca americana)

Synonyms
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
American nightshade, cancer root, common pokeberry, red-ink plant, coakum, poke root.

Identification and habitat
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
This perennial plant produces stems that are green when young and purplish later. The stem is hollow and has an unpleasant smell. It reaches the height of 4 to 12 feet, and a diameter of 1 inch. It has an extensive system of gnarled roots. The alternate, simple, entire leaves are oblong or ovate-lanceolate and acute or acuminate. Numerous small white (or greenish-white) to pinkish flowers grow in peduncled racemes during July and August, followed by clusters of round, purple berries, that remain well into the winter; these berries contain a crimson juice. Pokeweed is native to North America as well as other pads of the world. In the U .S., it is found in damp and rich soils, low ground, edges of woods, recently cleared areas, roadsides, and abandoned strip-mine areas from Maine, New York and south to Florida.

Parts used
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
Root, leaves, fruit.

Action
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
Anodyne, cathartic.

Reported uses
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
laxative, relieving pain, reducing inflammmation treating rheumatism and arthritis, and combating skin parasites, cancer.

Application
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
The extract is said to have been used in chronic rheumatism and hemorrhoids. Authorities differ as to its value in cancer; although said to give great relief towards the close of a difficult case of cancer of the uterus and also stated to be of undoubted value as an internal remedy in cancer of the breast (use only with medical supervision). The dried root is used for pain, and cornbating skin diseases. The sprouts of the young plants are sometimes eaten as pot-herbs after being boiled in two changes of water.

Preparations and approximate dosage
Infusion or Decoction
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
Use 1 tablespoon root or leaves with 1 pint water. Take 1 teaspoon at a time, as needed.

Tincture
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
2 to 5 drops, every 4 to 6 hours as needed.

CAUTION
LeArta Moulton, Nature's Medicine Chest
The fresh or insufficiently cooked plant is poisonous, particularly the root. The seeds in the berries are also poisonous and are particularly hazardous
for children.

Booger, I would wear gloves when handling the berries to be safe and Yes, I want some! lol Crazy as it sounds.

Vicki

 

[booger]

Thanks, Vicki! I'll holler as soon as the seeds are ready. I want to be sure and get them when they're ripe so they'll grow for you. Shouldn't be too much longer now.

 

[Vicki]

Thank you Booger, I'm a patient being.

Vicki

 

[Brooks]

Vicki, interesting that you would mention pokeweed for mastitis, because that is one of the primary uses of the homeopathic preparation of poke (phytolacca). Without any of the danger of toxicity.

 

[Vicki]

Brooks, I knew I had Poke in my homeopathic kit. I just wanted poke to make a tincture out of it. I may use it for a catalyst in other formulas or just a couple drops to boost my immune system if I get sick. I learned herbs before homeopathy and I find I take the herbs on a more regular basis. I'm glad to have both though believe me!

Booger, I just had to check the date you originally posted this. It was on the 9th and lo and behold I received an order I had placed on the 1st today from Companion plants. In it I had ordered poke seeds. lol I KNEW it was on my mind for a reason! Guess I don't need them now. Sorry bout that. I've gotten some great plants from them. Just received 10 ginseng and 10 black cohash, 2 wild yam and 1 each of eucalyptus, carob, a showy oregano and a bunch ofdifferent herb seeds. I love that place.

Vicki

 

[booger]

No problem, Vicki. Got a link for that seed site? I'd love to look around!

 

[CalicoKat]

URL for Companion Plants that Vicki Mentioned

http://www.companionplants.com/
is the URL for Companion Plants in Athens, OH. I have always been pleased with everything I have ordered from them.

Kat

 

[Amethyst]

I've read that poke berries acts as a wormer on chickens.

 

[Vicki]

>>Companion Plants in Athens, OH. I have always been pleased with everything I have ordered from them.<<

Me too Kat, great people. I've been ordering from them for the last couple of years. I still have a shiitake and a reishi log headed my way. I tried doing the plugs myself but didn't have any luck. With the mushrooms growing in my yard the way they do, I shouldn't have any problem with these.

Vicki

 

[Beetree]

Dang, talk about living on the edge! Eating Polk salet, or salad, pocan, or however you want to define it, is very umm, not your everyday fast food! I first noticed it when my dogs were groveling to get at the dried berries that had fallen on the ground. As I was walking them, and watching them grovel and delight at finding a berry dried on the ground, I knew there was something to it. I had harbored the plant thinking it might be a tobacco plant. It did have the big green leaves when it was young. I love tobacco. I want to grow it. However when it received the berries, I begin to think it was not tobacco. At any rate my dogs seemed to relish it so I decided to let it grow wild here. Now I have a lot of it. Then my neighbor said hey you have poke salad. She said her mother used to cook it alot. I do know that the birds like it (another reason for letting it harbor here). The ink idea sounds good, as the berries are so permanent in the bird bath!
As for the Saw Palmetto berries; I have a dog that would kill for them. I can not even describe the awful awful taste and smell of them. I would have to say it must be like the smell of dozens of dirty underwear. Not that I have ever smelled that . If a dog can eat something and it does not kill the dog -does it mean that a human can eat that same thing without ill effects? Like the poke salad berry dried on the ground. It does not kill the dogs. However they did not eat very many. They only ever eat two or three.

 

[hughmanity]

Beetree, no just because another mammal can eat a specific plant does not mean it is safe for humans. Always research a new plant prior to consuming it. The inverse is also true. Just because you can eat a specific food does not mean it is safe for your dog.

For example chocolate can be harmful to dogs if they consume 5 or more ounces, depending on the size of the dog.

BTW Pokeweed is toxic to dogs per the following url
http://www.takingthelead.co.uk/2/Health/poisonplants.htm