Please help me identify this plant. It is growing in my back yard in upstate N.Y. It has grape-like clusters of small purple berries.
This is Phytolacca americana, which was also tentatively identified based on a description in this thread. Please see that thread for links and extra information.
A followup question was asked from someone else about this plant via email about whether it was poisonous or not, and the answer is highly poisonous, possibly fatally so. Again, the excellent "Poisonous Plants of North Carolina": Phytolacca americana The email also asked about transplanting it in the fall. From what I've read, it wouldn't seem to be a problem to transplant it, which is probably to be expected given its invasive behaviour in some parts of the world.
This plant is a very familiar one to most people who grew up in rural areas in the eastern US. We played with the ripe berries as children. The juice makes a wonderful purple dye. I would have referred to it as poke weed. Poor country folk did at times eat the young shoots, as in Poke Salad Annie, but I would not recommend it. It is quite toxic. I always allowed the plant to grow in my flower beds when it appeared. I think it is a most beautiful weed.
