176 HOW TO KNOW WILD FRUITS 



connection with the pollination of the flowers. 

 At the precise time that the anthers are ready 

 to open, the filaments uncoil like a spring and 

 throw the pollen upon the breezes. 



POKE. SCOKE. GARGET. PIGEON BERRY 

 Phytolacca decendra Pokeweed Family 



Fruit. The dark purple berries grow in long 

 lateral racemes opposite the leaves. The berries 

 are like a sphere flattened vertically and are 

 from five- to twelve-celled. Each cell contains 

 one vertical seed. The berry is filled with a 

 crimson juice. The calyx persists at the base. 

 September. 



Leaves. The large coarse leaves are often 

 veined with purple. 



Flowers. The five sepals are white or pink- 

 ish and surround the conspicuous green ovary.^ 

 The corolla is lacking. 



This is a large rank perennial. The large 

 roots are poisonous but the young plants are 

 cooked in early summer for " Greens," and are 

 considered almost equal to Asparagus. The 

 sturdy plants often occur along the roadside, and 

 I have seen a rocky hillside pasture overgrown 



