Can someone identify this plant?

[phideaux]

Pull that thing up and take of photo of it laying on something flat. There are at least 2, possibly 3 different types of yellow flowers in that photo. The photo is to confusing for a clear id.

Googled..

Very close but leaves are different.
Blossoms like the same.
But the leaves are more like marijuana leaves.

Jim

 

[phideaux]

Is this a wild berry, similar to raspberry or blackberry? Does it have thorns?

No thorns.

Jim

 

[LadyLocust]

It not that poisonous. Handling the stalk is no big deal.... As kids we used to squash the berries and write the the juice, throw them at each other... The most painful part was the whipping we'd get for staining our clothes... In fact poke berry juice was used for ink in colonial america.

People here in the south cook and eat poke leaves every spring...

The scoop -
1) a small percentage of the population is sensitive to poke.

2) There has only been one known case of poke toxic overload... kids ate a bunch of the berries and had to be take to the hospital. They both recovered... There has been no recorded deaths caused by eating or handling poke... Somewhere on my computer I have a copy of the news paper article about the kids.

I take poke tincture almost every day. That said, 4 medicine bottle drops per dose and I'll get a funny taste in my mouth... I'm talking about poke tincture I make from the root, the most toxic part of the plant.

When I make root tincture I wear rubber gloves because I'll be handling the root for a couple of hours.

I'm investigating - so you mentioned I should dry the berries. Would that just be for making ink? I'm all for using them. I'm leaning - just slow. Going to dig in one or two of my books as well but have had a busy couple days.

 

[Peanut]

@LadyLocust Drying is an alternative to making a tincture. Just another method for ingesting the medicinal qualities. Dried berries are swallowed whole... without chewing, don't chew the seed. The seeds contain what makes poke toxic. Without chewing, your body digests the berry part. The seeds pass right through. Folks swallow 2 or 3 berries, once or twice a week for arthritis. It's still done here in the south by many.

A cousin made the mistake of chewing the seeds. Blinding headache then, everyone's favorite, dry heaves for a couple hours.

 

[LadyLocust]

@LadyLocust Drying is an alternative to making a tincture. Just another method for ingesting the medicinal qualities. Dried berries are swallowed whole... without chewing, don't chew the seed. The seeds contain what makes poke toxic. Without chewing, your body digests the berry part. The seeds pass right through. Folks swallow 2 or 3 berries, once or twice a week for arthritis. It's still done here in the south by many.

Thank you - I might go ahead and dry and tincture them. I have the brown bottles. I don't have arthritis, but like having it in case of need. I like the idea of making ink also actually.

 

[Peanut]

Thank you - I might go ahead and dry and tincture them. I have the brown bottles. I don't have arthritis, but like having it in case of need. I like the idea of making ink also actually.

I wouldn't waste my time with berries if i wanted to make a tincture. I'd make a tincture from the root. Most roots are 2 to 4lbs, hard to chop up though. I peel the root then use a hacksaw to cut it into thin disks. The disks are easier to dice.

Last time was a plant by my chicken pen. I watched it grow for several years before i harvested it. Darned root was over 10lbs before i trimmed it some. I used a chainsaw to cut it into more manageable pieces.

When the stalk dies you can dig the root. Smaller roots aren't as tough to work with. Leaving bits of root in the ground can't be avoided. A new plant will usually spring from them the next year. (you can dig the root anytime, just easier if a big stalk isn't growing when you dig, have to cut it off.)

 

[Peanut]

@LadyLocust I dice it up fairly small when i make a tincture... This size is good. Then just make a standard volume tincture (or simplers if you prefer)

 

[sonya123]

@LadyLocust Drying is an alternative to making a tincture. Just another method for ingesting the medicinal qualities. Dried berries are swallowed whole... without chewing, don't chew the seed. The seeds contain what makes poke toxic. Without chewing, your body digests the berry part. The seeds pass right through. Folks swallow 2 or 3 berries, once or twice a week for arthritis. It's still done here in the south by many.

A cousin made the mistake of chewing the seeds. Blinding headache then, everyone's favorite, dry heaves for a couple hours.

We have these thing all over and I read they are poisonous but our goats have eaten them ( before I knew and removed them from pastures) and lived
My Amish neighbor that used to live here cooked the leaves in spring and I tried it. Didn't taste good to me but didn't make me sick. She said you can only eat the leaves in spring

 

[Magus]

I saw this plant and wondered what it is? Can any of you tell me what it is?View attachment 9173

Poke. its too old to eat though. too much acid to cook out.

 

[joel]

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/pick-a-mess-of-poke-sallet.9656/#post-247316
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/poke-sallet.1721/#post-45555
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/poke-salad-annie.5045/