Pokeweed

Its a beautiful plant. Birds love to eat the berries.

Interesting, thank you. The little berries are already starting to form. I can't say I remember planting it, but perhaps some birds carried the seeds.

Pokeweed is a beautiful plant with some "weedy" tendencies. This is one of the few native plants that does a decent job of holding its own against the invasives. Pokeweed is very aggressive compared to most natives but it is also very attractive. I usually leave it alone but, since I have so many, I don't feel guilty cutting one back to make way for something more rare. For small lots, the gardener is faced with some tough choices since Poke can take end up using up a fair amount of space. BTW, it's my understanding that you shouldn't handle Poke barehanded a lot. Also, it is my understanding that there are ways to make it edible but that it's not edible without whatever that special preparation is.

Oh. Don't handle it barehanded? Wish I'd have read that yesterday. Well, at least I'm still alive. Thanks for the tips!