The common name pokeweed, poke, pokeroot, is derived from the Alogonquin Indian name for it, puccoon, a plant used for staining and dying. Pokeweed is a tall, smooth stemmed perennial herb with a large, fleshy taproot.
Stems are succulent, purplish, and bear alternate, lance-shaped leaves with smooth, curled margins.
The small, white to greenish flowers hang in long drooping, grape-like clusters. Pokeweed commonly grows on recently cleared land, in open wood, barnyards, pastures, fence rows, and roadsides. They have apparently thrived in damp, cool places in the spring and summer. The berries are toxic . The greens are parboiled as a pot herb in parts of the country in which it is indigenous.