pokeweed

[ pohk-weed ]

noun

1. any of numerous and usually toxic plants of the genus Phytolacca, including P. americana, of North America, having juicy purple berries and a purple root used in folk medicine, and young shoots resembling asparagus: pokeweed species vary greatly in height, with some growing to about 3.2 feet (1 meter) and others as tall as 82 feet (25 meters).

pokeweed

/ ˈpəʊkˌwiːd /

noun

1. a tall North American plant, Phytolacca americana, that has small white flowers, juicy purple berries, and a poisonous purple root used medicinally: family Phytolaccaceae Sometimes shortened topoke Also calledinkberry

Word History and Origins

Origin of pokeweed¹

An Americanism dating back to 1745–55; poke ⁴ + weed ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pokeweed¹

C18 poke, shortened from Algonquian puccoon plant used in dyeing, from pak blood

Example Sentences

We scurried after it and hid in a thicket of dead vines and pokeweed.

From Literature

In his case, those included elderberry bushes, beautyberry bushes, pokeweed, native oak, pine and sweet gum.

From The Guardian

The Blackberry Trail, for example, is lined with pokeweed and pawpaw trees, and the Riverview Trail is, naturally, the place to go for striking river views.

From Washington Post

“I have a garbage bag full of pokeweed in my studio! I swear, I just wrote on my calendar, ‘Learn how to make pokeberry dye.’

From The New Yorker

In the park, Willow pointed out mugwort and a pokeweed bush teeming with goldfinches.

From The New Yorker