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[Psylocke]

It looks kinda like piper nigrum, but I'm pretty sure its not.  All the piper I have seen have flower spikes that point up. It may be native and certainly hardy in my area (north Central Texas) as I have seen a few of these bushes around town.

[chronic]

Thats is a Phytolacca species. Maybe Phytolacca americana.

1 Like fairdinkumseeds likes this.

[MadPlanter]

Poke weed!

[Psylocke]

I believe you are right. Doesn't sound like something I want in my yard. I'll see if I can pull up that tap root. Stubborn thing seems pretty hard to eradicate.

[Ian Morris]

With Poke weed, be sure to get all of the root, its one of those.  goodluck, my sister ate a handful as a kid and got her stomach pumped so it has that going for it

[GrowerAndaShower]

I hear you can develop an immunity to the toxins, eating little bits over time would allow you to use it as a food source without it dehydrating you(via diarrhea/vomiting).

I wouldn't do it myself unless I was trapped in the wilderness somewhere with an excess, but there's some anecdotal information y'all can follow up on.

But yeah, had a lot around my parents property, about impossible to kill. One method that does work, but requires diligence and pretty much an entire summer, is chopping it off right below the soil w/ a machete. Repeat every time it sprouts back up, and eventually it runs out of energy without any leaves for photosynthesis. The other method that worked was digging it out, but if you miss even the tiniest section it'll be back next year.

1 Like fairdinkumseeds likes this.

[LIBERTYNY]

I knew a couple that would regularly eat it all the time with out the boil & change water three times routine.

They said the trick was to eat it only before it started to turn red .

Try at your own risk

[cactusjames]

I know I'm not an actual member yet but here's my 2 cents.... I live in Texas as well Psylocke and have had to remove a few of these  over the years. If possible, dig all the way around it and fairly deep into the soil to get the ENTIRE root. It can be a huge pain as most gardeners would rather spend their time on something more productive. I found spraying weed killer in the hole after you pull the ENTIRE plant out helps prevent any more from popping up....assuming it isn't in your yard and not in/near your actual garden.