Pokeweed

Mrs. Child (The Frugal American Housewife) has this to say about poke-root:

“Poke-root, boiled in water and mixed with a good quantity of molasses, set about the kitchen, the pantry, &c in large deep plates, will kill cockroaches in great numbers, and finally rid the house of them. The Indians say that poke-root boiled into a soft poultice is a cure for the bite of a snake. I have heard of a fine horse saved by it.”

If you ever have poke weed poke its way into your garden, you will learn to hate it. It’s a plant that looks pretty when it comes up. It’s so vital and fresh and green. It grows so luxuriantly and makes a fine-looking bush. Its flowers are ornamental and prolific, and the dark purple berries that follow are really lovely. What a nice bush it is! But appearances are deceiving. Once it gets a toehold, it’s exceptionally hard to get rid of. Round-up will seem to kill it, but given a couple of months, the weed will come up twice as strong. There’s a big patch on our neighbor’s farm and we all wish he would get rid of it....maybe with a flame thrower.

I did a little research on poke weed, enough to know that it’s very dangerous. Even “boiling in two waters” isn’t enough to remove all the toxins, and every year it claims some lives in the South where people still think it’s good to eat. The berries are attractive to children, and extremely deadly. If you have children, get rid of the pokeweed NOW. Even handling the plant is dangerous. Wear protective clothing and gloves when you’re pulling it up. (It has a tap root that is strong and long.)

On the other hand, in Wikipedia I learned some interesting facts. “Pokeweed berries yield a red ink or dye, which was once used by Native Americans to decorate their horses. The United States Declaration of Independence was written in fermented pokeberry juice (hence the common name 'inkberry'). Many letters written home during the American Civil War were written in pokeberry ink; the writing in these surviving letters appears brown. The red juice has also been used to symbolize blood, as in the anti-slavery protest of Benjamin Lay. A rich brown dye can be made by soaking fabrics in fermenting berries in a hollowed-out pumpkin.

So reading an 1830 book is interesting, but following its advice without some research can be harmful to your health.