Pokeberry

In Southern and Appalachian speech, "pokeberries" are the dark purple berries of the pokeweed plant. They stained clothes, were sometimes used as ink, and occasionally turned up in folk remedies.

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synonyms: pokeweed fruit, poke ink, pokeberry tonic

Hillbilly Dude Says...

That 'pokeberry ink' will ruin your clothes, so you have to watch out when you're pickin' it.

Pronunciation

[POHK-ber-eez] /ˈpoʊkˌbɛr.iːz/

Meaning & Usage

- The berries of the pokeweed plant (noun)

Hazel:

What happened to your shirt?

Earl:

Got into the pokeberries again - they’ll never wash out.

variations: poke, pokeweed berries

★ Though sometimes used for ink or home remedies, pokeberries are poisonous if eaten. Most folks just remember them as nature’s dye that ruined many a wash load. ★

Origin

From the pokeweed plant (*Phytolacca americana*), native to eastern North America. While the plant grows across much of the U.S., Southern and Appalachian families gave the berries cultural meaning - as ink, as part of folk remedies, and as a childhood memory of purple-stained hands.

Notes

Outside the South, pokeberries are mostly seen as a weed’s fruit.
In Appalachia, they were remembered for ink, tonic, and stains.
Sometimes confused with elderberries, though pokeberries are toxic.

Kin Topics

Kin Words, Stories and More

Common Questions

What are pokeberries?

The dark purple berries of the pokeweed plant.

Are pokeberries safe to eat?

No. They are considered poisonous, though some folk remedies used them sparingly.

What were pokeberries used for in the South?

As makeshift ink ("pokeberry ink"), in some folk remedies, and (accidentally) for staining clothes and hands.

Are pokeberries only Southern?

The plant grows widely, but the cultural uses - ink, tonic, and stories - are especially tied to the South and Appalachia.