176 HOW TO EXOW WILD FRUITS 



connection with the pollination of the flowers. 

 At the precise time that the anthers are ready 

 to open, the filaments nncoil like a spring and 

 throw the pollen upon the breezes. 



POKE. SCORE. 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. 



Floioers. — The ^yq 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 



