Medicine all Around

A few days ago I pulled out the poke plant (phytolacca americana) that had invaded my kaffir plant in the courtyard. Funny, every time people came over and looked in there they would ask about the huge poke plant. "What IS that?" They would say. Oh, just poke. You often find it around here growing along the road or in ditches. It has bright red stems and shiny black berries that say,"Hello, I am poisonous but don't you wonder what I taste like anyway?" Well, heh they say that to me anyway.... :)

So I pulled out the poke and found a huge root on it. It had been living there two years due to my benign neglect. I cleaned it, chopped it up and let it dry out for a day before putting it up. I made an oil out of some of the root and a tincture out of the rest. Poke is powerful plant medicine and not something to mess around with if you don't know what you are doing. It is an emetic so it will make you throw up and can stop your heart. People in the south still eat the young spring greens but you have to boil it in TWO changes of water. Is it worth the trouble? Depends on who you are. It is a powerful lymphatic cleanser and mover and helps with lingering infections. Of course I am not a doctor and these statements are based upon folklore. The seeds are the most poisonous part so eating the berries is really not a good idea. 

P.S.
We have lots of Western Bluebirds who have returned to our area for winter/spring and they have eaten all the berries off our poke plants.  Many berries which are poisonous to us (I am thinking pyracantha here) are relished by birds. So just a reminder that although a plant might not have an obvious human use, there are many other beings out there that make up the whole tapestry of our beautiful life.  Not to mention the fact that plants should have a special respected place just for being well... plants.