Pokeweed sightings dip as berry season starts fading
iNaturalist Community
Phenology
If you've spotted pokeweed's dark purple berry clusters along fences or in waste ground this fall, you're seeing peak visibility before the plant dies back for winter.
American pokeweed is a tall, weedy native plant with bright pink stems and clusters of dark purple berries that birds love but people should avoid eating (the whole plant is toxic to humans). It's been one of the most-logged plants on iNaturalist this year, but the number of people spotting and recording it just dropped by about 255 observations in a week. That dip likely means the plant is past its showiest berry stage and heading into fall dieback.
Key Findings
920 pokeweed observations logged in the US over the past 7 days, among the highest counts for any plant on iNaturalist
That's down from 1,175 observations the prior week, a drop of 255 sightings
Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) belongs to the Phytolaccaceae family and remains a top trending species despite the decline
chevron_right Technical Summary
American pokeweed sightings on iNaturalist dropped to 920 this week from 1,175 the week before, a sign the plant's showy purple-black berry season is starting to wind down across the US.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) — 920 observations this week
American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) is a species in the family Phytolaccaceae. iNaturalist users recorded 920 observations of it in the United States in the 7 days before today, among the most...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Phytolacca americana, also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, pokeberry, dragonberries, pigeonberry weed, and inkberry, is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae. This pokeweed grows 1 to 3 metres. It has simple leaves on green to red or purp...