Pokeberry

Description

The blackish-red berries of the pokeweed plant, Phytolacca americana, that is native to North America. Pokeberries ripen in the late summer to early fall. They were used by the native Americans for staining basketry. The primary colorant is cyanidin. Pokeberries produce a pale color on unmordanted wool, while wool mordanted with alum gives a cherry red, iron gives purple, copper gives a brick color and chromium gives a deep red. None of the colors are lightfast and fade quickly in sunlight to pale tones.

Synonyms and Related Terms

pokeweed plant (Phytolacca americana); poke berry; pigeon berry; bear's grape; poke weed; red-ink plant; American spinach; skoke; crowberry; jalap; cancer-root; American nightshade; pokan; cokan; coakum; chongras; Virginia poke; inkberry; redweed; pocan-bush; pokeroot

Risks

• Berries, stems and roots are poisonous.

Resources and Citations

• R.J. Adrosko, Natural Dyes in the United States, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1968

• Palmy Weigle, Ancient Dyes for Modern Weavers, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1974

• John and Margaret Cannon, Dye Plants and Dyeing, Herbert Press, London, 1994

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998