This plant just showed up in our landscaping but it didn't look like a weed so I left it and now it's HUGE! It's approximately 39" tall already and it looks like it's not near done growing yet. Can anyone help me identify what in the world this is?? It's got a really thick stem, and each of the big leaves looks like it has a tiny set of leaves connected at the base of the big leaf, up against the stem, really strange. Any help is appreciated. You can post a reply here or you can email me at sloth@sirus.com Thanks! ~ Ann
First of all, thanks a bunch for the quick response, wow! I took a look around on the net at some pics of pokeweed in various forms. The general descriptions seemed to fit the bill but I thought the leaves on my plant were longer and narrower than most I saw in the photos. Do plants vary that much in their appearance?? I'm WAY new to the whole gardening thing so this is all foreign to me. I decided to go back out and take a much closer look and noticed a few things that made me think you are very much correct. The base of the plant stem is starting to develop a purple tint, and there IS a tiny flowerbud developing inside the top leaves that haven't spread yet. It looks like a miniature lilac grouping......That seems to match up to the Pokeweed photos I looked at. So I assume that since I have cats, dogs AND kids this is probably a good plant to permenantly eradicate from my landscaping?? *grin* Ranks right up there with the nightshade vine I removed from my fence last year when someone finally pointed out what it WAS! (after 3 years of letting it grow in each year) Up until then I had simply went "oh that's a neat looking vine growing up out of nowhere! I think I'll just leave it." LOL..... Guess I need to stop assuming. Thanks a bunch for your help and taking the time to leave me a message. Greatly appreciated! ~ Ann
Is there a way to find out for sure? If it's harmless, I don't want to kill it! Would it be easier to identify if I got some closer shots? Will be back online later for that. Thanks ~ Ann
Definitely pokeweed. When plants are young and especially when grown in less than full sun, there is little red color to the stems. See those little sprouts in the leaf axils? I just went outside to check my neighbor's yard (a veritable pokeweed nursery) and sure enough, there are those little sprouts. Definitely a positive ID. And although poke berries are poisonous, I've never known anyone to get sick from them. The young shoots are very much edible. There are worse things in a garden. The berries were used as ink in the "olden days" and it's a fun project to do with your kids (ones old enough to avoid eating the berries, that is).
Thank you for the confirmation! I may pass on the ink-making for a few years (kids range from "too young" to "too cool"...lol) but at least it's not going to KILL anyone to have it around. Of course, it's in a strange place so it's not exactly....asthetically pleasing, but seeing as most of the stuff was thrown half-hazardly into the landscaping anyway I'm not sure it really matters. Thanks to both of you for helping me out on this. I will DEFINATELY keep this board on my favorites list. Your help is GREATLY appreciated! ~ Ann
Woohoo! Thanks for the question..I've been looking all over trying to identify this plant. We moved here last year and one sprouted up and WOW did it grow..so we let it go to see what it would do. Not only is plant big and beautiful but it grew huge bunches of berries...we let it go to seed so we could watch it again this year! Animals seem to leave it alone so my vote is, LET IT GROW! Thanks again..Persia
