pokeweed

pokeweed
/pohk"weed'/, n.
a tall herb, Phytolacca americana, of North America, having juicy purple berries and a purple root used in medicine, and young edible shoots resembling asparagus. Also called pokeroot /pohk"rooht', -root'/, scoke, garget.
[1745-55, Amer.; POKE4 + WEED1]

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also called pokeberry or poke

Strong-smelling shrublike plant (Phytolacca americana) with a poisonous root resembling the shape of horseradish, native to wet or sandy areas of eastern North America.

It has white flowers, reddish black berries, and dark green leaves that often are red-veined or borne on red leafstalks. The berries contain a red dye used to colour wine, candies, cloth, and paper. Like the roots, the red or purplish mature stalks are poisonous. Very young green shoots (up to about 6 in. [15 cm]), however, are edible.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • pokeweed — ☆ pokeweed [pōk′wēd΄ ] n. [see POKE3] a North American plant (Phytolacca americana) of the pokeweed family, with clusters of purplish white flowers, reddish purple berries, and smooth leaves and stems: the roots and berry seeds are poisonous adj …   English World dictionary

  • Pokeweed — Poke weed , n. (Bot.) See {Poke}, the plant. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pokeweed — Taxobox color = lightgreen name = Pokeweed image width = 240px image caption = regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Caryophyllales familia = Phytolaccaceae genus = Phytolacca subdivision ranks = Species… …   Wikipedia

  • pokeweed — poke·weed pō .kwēd n a coarse American perennial herb (Phytolacca americana of the family Phytolaccaceae, the pokeweed family) which has stalks of white flowers, dark purple juicy berries, and a poisonous root and from which is obtained a mitogen …   Medical dictionary

  • pokeweed — Poke Poke, n. (Bot.) A large North American herb of the genus {Phytolacca} ({Phytolacca decandra}), bearing dark purple juicy berries; called also {garget}, {pigeon berry}, {pocan}, and {pokeweed}. The root and berries have emetic and purgative… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pokeweed — noun Date: 1751 a coarse American perennial herb (Phytolacca americana of the family Phytolaccaceae, the pokeweed family) with racemose white flowers, dark purple juicy berries, a poisonous root, and young shoots sometimes used as potherbs …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • pokeweed — poke•weed [[t]ˈpoʊkˌwid[/t]] n. pln a North American treelike plant, Phytolacca americana, of the pokeweed family, with edible shoots and juicy deep purple berries in depressed round clusters …   From formal English to slang

  • pokeweed — amerikinė fitolaka statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Fitolakinių šeimos daržovinis, dekoratyvinis, maistinis, vaistinis nuodingas augalas (Phytolacca americana), paplitęs Šiaurės Amerikoje. atitikmenys: lot. Phytolacca americana angl.… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • pokeweed — fitolaka statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Fitolakinių (Phytolaccaceae) šeimos augalų gentis (Phytolacca). atitikmenys: lot. Phytolacca angl. garget; pokeweed vok. Kermesbeere rus. лаконос; фитолака lenk. fitolakka; szkarłatka …   Dekoratyvinių augalų vardynas

  • Pokeweed mitogen — is a mitogen derived from Phytolacca americana. It functions as a lectin.External links* * …   Wikipedia

  • pokeweed mitogen — pokeweed mitogen. См. экстракт лаконоса. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

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