30 



POKEWEED FAMILY (Phytolaccacea) 



POISON POKE ! Ph y tolacca decandra L. ) 

 \Phytolacca americana L. ) 



PLATE XI. 



COMMON NAMES: Poison poke is sometimes called scoke, pokewet ,1 

 pigeon-berry, and garget. 



DESCRIPTION: It is a tall, stout, evil-smelling, perennial herb from 

 six to nine feet high, with rich green foliage turning red in the autumn. 

 The leaves are four to six inches long and two to three inches wide, petioled, 

 pointed at both ends with entire margins. The veins start from the midrib 

 and meet in scallops near the margin. The flowers are small, numerous 

 in long racemes, with white calyx and green seed-vessel soon chantiina, to 

 the crimson calyx and deep purple berries of September and October. 

 The seeds are black, brightly shining, arranged in a circle in the berry. 

 The root is large, pale, dull yellow, with uneven ridges at intervals. In 

 older plants, the branches of the root become massed together consider- 

 ably, each branch being often more than three inches in diameter. 



DISTRIBUTION: Poison-poke is native to Ontario. It is found on 

 low ground and rich soil. 



POISONOUS PROPERTIES: All parts of the plant contain acrid and 

 somewhat narcotic properties. The juice of the plant will cause skin 

 irritation. The root is very poisonous; in it are found a toxic substance 

 phytolaccotoxin, an acrid alkaloid phytolaccine, saponin, and other injurious 

 constituents. The fruit is also extremely poisonous. The young leaves 

 lose their acridity when boiled, and are sometimes used as spinach. 



ANIMALS AFFECTED: Cattle have been poisoned by eating the fresh 

 young shoots, in places where the plant is growing abundantly. 



HUMAN POISONING: Most cases of human poisoning have been acci- 

 dental, either in overdoses of medicine or in mistaking the root for that 

 of horse-radish or parsnip. Fatal cases of poisoning of children from 

 eating the fruit have been reported by Chesnut. 



SYMPTOMS: Poison-poke is a very powerful, although slow-act in; 

 emetic. Vomiting does not usually begin until after two or more hours. 

 The symptoms are: nausea, vomiting, spasms, severe purging, and some- 

 times death from paralysis of the respiratory organs. 



REMEDY AND MEANS OF CONTROL: Professional advice should l>e 

 obtained. The plants should be grubbed out. If the roots and berrii-.- 

 are not sold as drugs, care should be taken to destroy them entirely. 

 Where cutting off would seem more practicable, coarse salt, carbolic acid, 

 or coal-oil should be applied to the cut surface of the root to check ne\v 

 growth. 



