Magenta stems, black-purple berries. Young shoots were cooked as poke sallet; roots and berries are toxic.

A tall herbaceous perennial with smooth red-magenta stems, large alternate leaves, and drooping racemes of berries that ripen from green to ink-purple.

Habitat

Disturbed ground, barn lots, woods openings.

Season

Shoots April–May; berries August–October.

Size

4–10 ft

Field marks

Hot-pink stems; hanging berry clusters

Roots, seeds, and mature leaves are poisonous. Traditional poke sallet uses only very young shoots, boiled in two changes of water — skip it unless you already know the method cold.