ID needed if any one can

This is a highly invasive weed from Hell that I am trying to ID. If you can help, I would certainly appreciate it.

Here is another leaf view.

From what I can see of it, looks like it could be poke weed.

Thanks Jake, after I googled pokeweed, the resulting images confirmed your ID. It hasn't formed the berries yet, so these were the best pic's I could get for the location. They're tearing up my Flower beds on the fenceline. Roundup is the answer. Great knowledge on this forum.

Just an idea to throw at you, Jeff. Think about keeping a couple. Phytolacca is actually quite an attractive plant; it has panicles of small white to pink flowers that produce beautiful display of dark purple berries. In the fall, the stems turn bright red. Birds love the berries - that's why it's growing along your fenceline. Birds sitting on the fence defecated and deposited the seeds. It's a great wildlife plant, and it sure is easy to take care of.

I'm with Peter. Sometimes it is easier to go with what nature wants than to impose our ideas on her. I routinely mow around 'volunteer' daisies in my lawn and let mullein grow in the midst of my garden. I have black caps and true blackberries at the edges of my lawn that grew without my planting them. I just eat the berries and say "thank you".

Before you use a systemic pesticide, poke weed is easily pulled out and doesn't spread effectively by root tips so pulling is highly effective. If you pull before fruit has set, that should prevent return in the following year. I can't imagine resorting to round up for poke weed!

It is a huge plant when full grown (ours is 2.5m tall by 1.75-2m wide), but, it is very attractive with the red stems, green leaves, and shiny slack berries. We have it growing down the side of our house where we have a tall-grass prairies environment planted (12 foot cup plants and sunflowers – quite a sight in downtown Toronto). If you have room, I encourage you to let it grow. But, that said, I fully understand if you need to pull it – they pop up in lots of unwelcome places thanks to the birds.

I thought it looked like poke weed, too. A familiar plant of my boyhood in Georgia. Poke berries make great 'ink' that will endear a little boy to his mother. Never knew it was invasive, but now that I think of it, I remember that it grows in disturbed areas. I always thought it is the same plant as in the song, Poke Salad Annie. So I thought it is a southern plant - how'd it get in Michigan? Maybe it wont survive the winter.

Well, we have plenty of pokeweed in PA too-- and we're surely not considered Southern. They can get huge around here. I agree though-- Roundup doesn't seem like the cure for this one. I don't think they're hard to pull out, & if you wanna plant other stuff in its place or near it, you don't wanna kill the whole area with that nasty stuff. I too think they can be very attractive if placed in certain spots, such as where they can be a colorful backdrop into Sept. & Oct. with other taller plants near them. I've photographed various insect life on pokeweed.

Pokeweed can be used for poke salad IF and ONLY IF the very first tender leaves are used. As the plant gets bigger it's poisonous. The berries and all other parts are poisonous too. I'd read up on it before trying to eat it.


Kent in SD

Tony Joe White had that great old song; Poke Salad Annie. Good info on the poison. Kent.