Paleo Foraging

Phytolacca americana L.

= P. decandra

Pokeweed, poke, poke berry, inkberry, redweed

Cherokee: ^dzayitagɑ́ / ^dzaⁱdɑgɑ́ / ^dja·yɑdEhí (Banks 1953:42)
Haudenosaunee: o‘’sheä oně˙’taʼ – “crimson leaves” (Parker 1910:93)
Kiowa: (name translates to) “pink flower plant” (Vestal and Schultes 1939:26)

Osage: gðebe moŋkoŋ – “vomit medicine” (Munson 1981:237)

Location in Texas: E, C, & sparse W TX; common in Travis Co.; only Phytolacca sp. in TX.

Form: large herbaceous shrub, < 20 ft. tall, usually about 5 ft. tall; perennial.

Flowers: Jan-Dec (white, pink, purple).

Food

Foliage – eaten by the Cherokee (Banks 1953:42), Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:27), and Haudenosaunee (Parker 1910:93). The young and tender parts were cooked (Parker 1910:93).

GS – leaves: early spring (Banks 1953:42) / spring (Parker 1910:93).

Medicine

Fruits – crushed, sugar added, allowed to ferment, and a tablespoon of this “poke berry wine” was taken at a time to relieve rheumatism by the Cherokee (Banks 1953:42). The fruits were also simply eaten to relieve rheumatism (Banks 1953:43).

Roots & seeds – though reputedly poisonous, were used by Kiowa as an emetic and cure for rheumatism (Vestal and Schultes 1939:27).

Root – used as an emetic and laxative by the Osage (Munson 1981:237). Every spring, the Osage men got together to chew the root (Munson 1981:237). This was perhaps a ritual cleansing similar to that performed by many Texas tribes in their first fruits ceremony, where they took Texas mountain laurel (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum) seeds as an emetic and laxative before eating of the first spring harvest (Berlandier 1969:89, 94, Ohlendorf et al. 1980:613). The roots were dried by the Cherokee, powdered, and sprinkled on old sores (Banks 1953:42). The powder was also mixed with cold water and was drunk to make “urine to flow more easily” (Banks 1953:42). A decoction of the root was applied to eczema (Banks 1953:42).

Material

Fruits – for decorative purposes, a red stain was obtained from the fruit by Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:27), Chippewa (Gilmore 1977:27), and Comanche (Kavanagh 2008:128). The fruits were used by the Caddo for basketry dye (LaVere 2006:92). Feathers were dyed by the Comanche by mashing the fruits in an animal stomach, putting the feathers in, and burying the mass for four days (Kavanagh 2008:128). The fruits were also boiled with feathers to dye them (Kavanagh 2008:128). Kiowa girls made necklaces out of the dried fruits (Vestal and Schultes 1939:27).