Phytolacca, Pokeweed

 My beloved poke! I harvest it from the wild and grow it and along with ramps, it is what i look forward to every spring. The greens are excellent! Considered a blood cleanser where I live.

Fresh roots and berries many be used as tinctures - small doses. Too much will repress respiration. Can be used as was for mastitis. Increases blood supply to skin. Good for psoriasis and eczema. Good lymph cleanser. Good for swollen lymph glands after an illness. Good for skin and secretory herbs. Stimulates mammary, ovarian and testicular circulation. Best used in formulas. Traditionally used for goiter and hypo-thyroid. 1/2 ounce of root or berries can be fatal. Wear gloves and don't touch your face when processing roots.

... and according to MM, I must be black because I eat poke, black-eyed peas and catfish. Of course, I've never met a black person who ate poke greens/salat... it is more of an Appalachian thing these days... probably wider used in the rural South before food stamps an public housing - when food for even the poorest folks became "store bought".. But, in his world view, only poor people eat wild foods and only black and brown people are poor. It is amazing how political ideologies can make otherwise intelligent people so absolutely stupid that traditional folks like me wonder how they even had the sense to feed themselves, bathe or speak.... but, perhaps more remarkable how those embodied by such ignorance and arrogance always find a way to look down on people who already know better and aren't terribly impressed by their "discoveries of traditional knowledge". ...perfect example of "book knowledge" with no real world experience, I'd rather be an "ignorant redneck" as he refers to people like me than an elitist, liberal ass.