Phytolacca americana (PROSEA)
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Synonyms
Phytolacca decandra L.
Vernacular names
- Pokeweed (En). Raisin d'Amérique, morelle à grappe (Fr)
- Laos: kub nyuj (Hmong)
- Vietnam: thương lục.
Distribution
Originating from North America, now cultivated worldwide and sometimes naturalized. In South-East Asia particularly in Indo-China.
Uses
Young shoots, when cooked, are used as a vegetable. The red fruits have been used to colour wine, but are slightly toxic. All parts, especially the roots, are used medicinally as narcotic, emetic and purgative. The plant is a common ornamental in temperate climates.
Observations
Perennial herb, up to 4 m tall, with branched stems and tuberous roots. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, 10-40 cm × 4-12 cm. Fruit a berry, subglobose, 1.2 cm in diameter, 10-lobed, dark red, in racemose infructescences. The plant is often distributed by birds which eat the fruits.
Selected sources
33, 47, 57, 70.