POKEWEED FAMILY 



PHYTOLACCACE^: 



POKEWEED. In little clearings of the woods, 

 especially if a recent fire has destroyed other herba- 

 ceous plants, one is pretty sure to find the Poke- 

 weed or Garget growing in abundance. This is 

 probably due to the fact that its seeds are largely 

 distributed through the agency of the birds that 

 eat the berries, and everyone knows that little 

 glades along the borders of woods are favorite 

 haunts of many sorts of birds. The plant comes 

 into flower rather late in summer, the small white 

 blossoms being visited by many sorts of bees and 

 flies. The berries gradually mature until in Sep- 

 tember they form the conspicuous purple clusters- 

 with which most children are familiar. Then they 

 attract the birds in numbers, giving them a rich 

 feast to speed them on their southward way. 



The Pokeweed is the only member of its family 

 which is commonly found throughout most of the 

 United States. It was formerly called Pigeon- 

 berry, probably because the fruit was commonly 

 eaten by the wild pigeons which were once so 

 abundant throughout the United States. 



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