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Fledglings eating poke berries

15 years ago

I'd heard they ate poke berries and I'd seen blue birds with berry stains around their mouths, but this was the first time I saw them eating them up close.

These fledglings are 34 days old. They are just beginning to come to the deck for meal worms.

Dave

Comments (12)

debbie321
15 years ago
WOW how COOL! Where can I buy a poke berry bush??
dave_in_va
Original Author
15 years ago
I don't know that anyone sells it. It is a weed that grows wild and is generally considered a nuisance by farmers in the South. It is hard to get rid of, partly because it has a deep tap root. It is historically associated with poverty, at least here in the South, where they say the leaves can be gathered and used in a salad. It was featured in an early '70's song by Elvis called "Poke Salad Annie."
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Allenwrench, those are POKEBERRIES. The fruits themselves and the rest of the plant is toxic at this time of the year. I know you're really interested in wild foods, so you might want to mark the spot in your mind for an early spring harvest, late April-early May, next year. The young shoots, when they're about 8 inches tall or less, can be boiled in a couple of changes of water (necessary to leach out toxic alkaloids), and then used just like asparagus. They taste like asparagus, more or less. I just discovered pokeweed this past spring myself, and I was quite astonished at how good it tastes. I can't believe I've been pulling it out as a weed all of these years. I'm gathering all of the volunteers in my yard and putting them in their own bed for next year. Poke is a BIG deal in the South -- a lot of towns in southern states hold Poke Festivals in the spring, and it is available commercially canned on a small scale. There are also whole pokeweed cookbooks, etc. It often goes by the old names of "Poke Sallet" or "Poke Salad" in the deep South, despite the fact it is used as a cooked vegetable, and NEVER should be eaten raw, since the alkaloids, which are toxic to the kidneys and liver, are destroyed by cooking. Dennis SE Michigan
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This certainly isn't my fight - I don't even eat it, but a lot of people here in E. Tn. do eat poke. I do a fair amount of foraging, mostly to learn the wild plants and how to prepare them. Some I eat all the time, others I try just to taste. But I've been reading this exchange for a few days now, and I think some things should be emphasized. As long as I have a positive id, I don't mind eating plants that have toxic and edible components. In fact, I have a bowl of wild black cherries in the fridge that will become syrup later today after I separate out the toxic pits... not an easy task btw... However, when posting on a public message board, I always, ALWAYS lean to the side of caution. It's a simple maxim... what I am willing to do with my choices are a much different matter than what I suggest that others do with their own. In the case of the cherries... I'll be glad to tell you that the flesh of the fruit is edible, but I will heavily caution that, when working with them, I wouldn't even scratch the toxic pits. In fact, I wouldn't use any metal tools. I would also add that the person look up for themselves the toxicity of all parts of the trees, especially leaves drying on a broken branch. They routinely take out large cattle with much better digestive protections against wild foods. I try to be cautious, especially since foraging isn't really necessary to my lifestyle. I simply enjoy it. I like the idea of eating rare foods and flavors untouched by, and unavailable in, the factory food marketplace. And when discussing these foods on a public forum where some, potentially, may not have the faculties to understand the danger, why suggest that people cut corners? You don't ask for proof that it's poisonous. You assume it's poisonous! Knowledge is what helps a person make good choices. If you aren't 100% sure of what you are doing, you don't lessen the caution, you increase it. If you wish to take the risk yourself, that's a choice you live with (hopefully,) but you don't argue for the lessening of caution that might put others at risk. If you have the ability to hire a laboratory and test out the amount and effect of the toxin across a wide selection of poke varieties, as well as using various cooking methods, along with portion size, frequency of consumption, and weight and maturity level of the individuals consuming, then have at it - and please publish your findings. Until then, the cautions should remain in place.
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I think it is time for me to take a stand against the Poke haters here! LOL I'm So sorry to hear that you have had such a bad reaction to poke MulchMama. Are you sure that it was the poke? Since your profile states that you are a "Certified Landscape Designer" you could have possibly been exposed to many other plants that caused the reaction? Are you allergic to peanuts and many more things? You may want to have an allergy test to be sure! I'm allergic to chlorophyll yet I still garden! I have saw a lot of people blame something for allergic reactions that were not related to what they thought it was. I have been around it and used it for many years as a great fresh spring veggie when nothing else is available. I'm not being negative or doubting you or anything, just curious. I have never heard of anyone having a bad reaction to it, that is why I'm curious! When we were kids we would crush the berries and paint our bodies with the dye! We were the original "Blue Man Group" ! Actually purple..... " If you want to go to the trouble of harvesting and preparing it so it can be eaten, fine." I kind of take that as a slap in the face, but I will ignore it and hope you meant it differently! The harvesting and preparing isn't any harder than harvesting and preparing any other green that is domestically grown. Easier actually since it isn't covered with dirt. And it tastes better than any other green that I have ever ate! I can buy it canned at the local grocery stores, I think the brand names are Allens and Glory . So it must not be so poison after all? I'm not wanting to start a piss fight or anything, but poke has gotten a bad reputation from some people over the years that isn't justified. People once thought that tomatoes were poison because they are from the nightshade family, yes parts of the tomato have poison in them and poke does also. But they also ate potatoes, from the same family without a qualm????? A quote that I can't confirm about a brave man that ate the poison tomatoes. "He stood on the steps of a courthouse in Salem, New Jersey and ate an entire basket of tomatoes. He attracted over 2,000 people, who were mostly waiting to watch him die. Women passed out from fear, and the firemen's band even played a mournful dirge. Needless to say, he survived, as did the tomato."
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Comments (5)
Judy.....I'm even working on a family tree quilt to combine both hobbies....but, I've been putting if off, though, dreading putting on all those little white pieces of fabric with names and dates....but, I'm going to get back to it after the current top if finished, and that shouldn't be long. I'm also including appliqued family buildings....I've finished the Newlin Mill and a Quaker Meeting house, both from Chester Co, PA...haven't decided on both maternal bldgs yet. One will be Berry Plain, but I'm not sure about the other..., that's part of the fun, though....thinking and planning. All my families came to either PA or Virginia, the earliest a Capt Thomas Graves, was on the 1607 ship to Jamestown..the other Va folks came in the mid 1600s. My only NE emigrant was the Rev. Francis Doughty, who came to Taunton, Mass, but got the boot from the Puritans....they didn't agree with his 'take' on baptism. He then went to New Amsterdam, and later to MD and Va. My father's families were Quakers and came to PA with Penn....several on The Welcome with Penn (sort of like the Pa version of the Mayflower!!!) Fascinating stuff, I think....but, like chocolates....you can't eat just one....!
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bluebars
15 years ago
What a great series! These could be inspirations for beautiful paintings... How on earth did you get these great shots?!? That last one, you can really tell the girl from the boys.
When I used to ride horses, we often had purple stains on our jeans from brushing against poke berries! Pokeweek is a perrennial weed, often seen on roadsides and fallow fields. It can be eaten but if not prepared properly can be toxic, so it is considered noxious, but only invasive in some parts of the country. But after seeing these pics, pokeweed would be welcome in my garden any time!
BlueBars
bluebirdbabe
15 years ago
Beautiful pictures. I have not seen the bluebirds eat the poke berries, but I know the cedar wax wings love them. I have tons of them in my gardens. The birds eat the berries and poop out the seeds, now I have about 15 bushes around my yard. The huge bush I had (that stared all the little bushes)died. They have taken over my butterfly garden, so I will have to pull some of them out. I heard the berries are poisonus to humans.

Thanks for sharing your pictures, glad to know the blues love them too.

Karen
dapjwy
15 years ago
Dave,

Thank you for sharing such beautiful pictures! They make me appreciate Pokeweed even more.

Pokeweed is a native plant to Pennsylvania...I'm sure its range is much further than that. It can be attractive in the right location. I do have some already growing on the property that I recently purchased. They are unique in that they continue to flower while their berries are ripening. (Most plants flower once and then ripen into berries.) It continues to produce berries which provides a food source over a longer time.

I had read that the early sprouts could be boiled and eaten like asparagus---BUT, it required multlple changes of water to remove the toxins. I'd be wary if you don't know what you are doing.

I do have pokeweed and I have seen bluebirds in my yard. Unfortunately, I've not had a successful nesting...yet. I'd love to see fledglings exploring their world...and love to get pictures even half as good as yours!

Thanks again,

David
dave_in_va
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, here's a shot showing his wing feathers.

Dave
dapjwy
15 years ago
Another beautiful shot! Cool position, too.
debbie321
15 years ago
OH MY!! That is a GORGEOUS picture WOW
kenn3d
15 years ago
Beautiful Dave,

I love that last one especially.

It's good to see that your fledglings are still hanging around. Our's are too and we still see at least various ones from nests 1&3... not too sure if any of the 2nd nesters are still here.

always glad to see your posts here,

Kenn
debbie321
15 years ago
Kenn is the camera you have the 6 megapixel?? I am looking on Ebay to see about getting one, I love photography and will be going to Denali next year to photograph the bears there
mulchmamma
15 years ago
Beautiful shots. I have pokeweed all over the place, some with thick stumps like trees. Used to cut them down but now, I leave them for the birds (having read about it here).

There are alot of "weeds" I used to dig out that I now imagine I am paying $$ for to replant.

Ragweed is another "weed" that is extremely beneficial. A certain maggot lives in the stems which apparently the dees adore and is a valuable food source in winter.
fsg323
15 years ago
I have several large Pokeberries in my woods--I like them because the birds do. I once fired a lawn maintenance worker who cut down one at the edge of the woods! I think they're attractive in their own way.

Fran in NJ

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