Ripe pokeweed berries are poisonous when in their green unripened state, but they lose the poison when they turn purple. By the time I had enough berries to make the dye, these early pickings had pretty much dried up. The stems are stout and erect which varies in color from green, red, pink or purple up to 3-7 feet high. Several projects in mind. The berries and roots are highly toxic. The best picking spots are in massively overgrown thickets. The next morning, I pulled it out, squeegeeing out as much dye as possible back into the pot. Pregnant women should not use Pokeweed berry because it may cause contraction in uterus and lead to miscarriage. Pokeweed can cause nausea, vomiting, cramping, stomach pain, diarrhea, low blood pressure, difficulty controlling. I put the pot on high heat and brought it to a boil, then reduced it to low. This means for 1 pound of wool fiber, you’d collect 25 pounds of berries, but she reassures you that they are heavy and collecting goes quickly. Pokeweed roots can be transplanted in the late winter or seeds can be sown in the early spring. Once everything was nicely mashed up, I simmered it for an hour, and then strained it to remove all the stems, berry hulls and the millions of seeds. to get pinks and reds you need to use an alum mordant. Ripe pokeweed berries are poisonous when in their green unripened state, but they lose the poison when they turn purple. While this was going on I made the dye. on Step 6. In fact, pokeweed received its name from the Algonquin word “pakon,” meaning dye. Pokeweed, strong-smelling plant with a poisonous root resembling that of a horseradish. Second, approach the mordant with caution! When you eat it there is a required method to remove the toxins. I was going to gather these and try my hand at dyeing yarn. Pokeweed, also known as poke salet, is a powerful medicinal plant that grows wild in North America Pokeweed Herb Phytolacca americana Authors: Deb Jackson, Karen Bergeron Shelton (c)1998 Updated 2/07/2019 Probably. Phytolacca americana, also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, dragonberries is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae growing up to 8 ft (2.4m) in height. I should mention that pokeweed berries ripen slowly. I wound off and mordanted one pound of DK weight with cider vinegar. I do recall that the person who prepared it for me cooked the egg and poke salad dish  by boiling the poke salad twice in a fresh change of water and then cooked it again in a cast iron skillet with the eggs, and used only young leaves from a young plant, but I thought all the cooking and stress on young leaves was about removing any bitterness. 6. on Introduction. Thanks for all your documentation. I squeegeed it out as much of the mordant as possible, and then eased it immediately into the simmering dye. My wording was clumsy. They don't taste good to humans, but birds eat them sometimes. No problem, though. The dried mature leaf was used in making a yellow dye. I used vinegar to mordant this year. The fleshy taproot is large, thick and coarse with 4-6 inches as a diameter. I have found that berries are easier to juice if they are hot, which it why I did it after they came to a boil. This is a beautiful color but not the red I wanted. Only the water is lost. Keep your space covered. Don't mistake them for edible grapes, however. I would suggest looking into Rebecca Burgess' book, in it she mentions two natural dyers, Carol Lee and Carol Leigh (I'm not making that up), who developed a way to use pokeberries to make a bright red dye on protein fibers using a very low pH dyebath. According to Penn State Hershey, poison ingredients Phytolaccatoxin and Phytolaccigenincan be found in the root system, leaves, and stems of the weed. But the pokeweed is very poisonous. For my next Instructables, I am going to continue my experiments using other mordants, like alum and iron. I too have been trying to dye with pokeberries. Remember two things. Did you make this project? It uses A LOT of pokeberry though. Some members of the genus are known as pokeweeds or similar names such as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot or poke sallet. This “weed” can grow up to 12 feet tall and six feet wide. [ 1 reply | ()] … Once the juice came back to a simmer, I eased in the rinsed yarn. Phytolacca americana, also known as American pokeweed, pokeweed, poke sallet, dragonberries is a poisonous, herbaceous perennial plant in the pokeweed family Phytolaccaceae growing up to 8 ft (2.4m) in height. I didn't know you could get so many colors from poke berries. 7 years ago 6 years ago Juice the berries by placing them in the mortar and crushing them with the pestle. It grew and thrived and grew and grew until it pretty much blocked the door to the backyard. It too likes to hang out at the forest edges. That binding agent is called a mordant. I don't know why I can't get the beautiful deep red-purple that I see in the dye pot. My most vivid memory of pokeweed isn’t from painting with the berries as a child, or from the smell coming from the boiling pot in my grandmother’s kitchen. Poke berries are cooked and the resulting liquid used to color canned fruits and vegetables. Do you know if the left over pokeweed dye can keep for any length of time, weeks, months even years? It looked good while it was in there. It has a smooth, stout, … Poke salad is poisonous. Well, I did some research and it seems that you are correct to generally consider the plant poison. I was taught to wash my hands after just picking it because it can poison you just through the skin. It still wasn’t fuchsia, but it was a very nice purplish brown. The Burgess book recipe works really well for a deep red. Pokeweed, (Phytolacca americana), also called pokeberry, poke, or American pokeweed, strong-smelling plant with a poisonous root resembling that of a horseradish.Pokeweed is native to wet or sandy areas of eastern North America.The berries contain a red dye used to colour wine, candies, cloth, and paper. Pokeweed enjoyed a good reputation across the south as a spring green because it was one of the first edible herbs to appear, giving a much-needed break from the beans, cornbread and As Arkansas hill folk gave up the land during the Depression and moved away, they took with them the taste for pokeweed. I was going to see if I could change that. Pokeweed = Poison? The pokeberries grow on stems similar to a bunch of grapes. Reply Then I rinsed the yarn well, and out came almost all of the purple dye. The pink flower stems are quite attractive. Images by Panoramic Images/Getty Images. • Don’t get it near food or dishes. I called it a success. 4 years ago. This juice gives wool and linen a pink color and gives paper a purple color. It is fun finding this plant and preparing it for a dish or remedy or using its berries for dye and ink. Interested in growing pokeberry plants? Reply Poke gets its name from an Indian word " pokan " which means any plant used to produce a red or yellow dye. Some lectins, e.g. Pokeweed is a hardy perennial normally spread by birds who eat the berries, which are toxic to humans. Anyway, this is a very well done instructable that I'm passing on to the GF, who is the handler of yarns in our household. It is an herbaceous perennial plant that can grow to 2-12 feet in height. The berries can be used to fight off infections. The stalk is thick and often droops over under it’s own weight and the weight of the berries. But when picked and prepared properly, as millions have done over the centuries, it is perhaps the most delicious pot herb of all, on… This year I followed very exact directions from on line and got a rusty orange. Colors such as tan, orange or gray from pokeberries seem to indicate that the dye Spotted growing at Bell House. As a rule of thumb in natural dyeing, you generally want about 3x-4x dyestuffs as wool. Let’s talk mordants. I used my alpaca yarn straight from the alpaca, so I didn’t wash it first. Pokeberry does not work well on cotton, hemp, linen or other plant fibers. I picked them from two plants and brought them home. How do I get the dye color to stay in the material and not rinse out? Pokeweed’s rich roots in the U.S. still inspire festivals in the South. Ripe poke berries, do not eat While coloring foods with poke berry juice has been banned, because it is reportedly poisonous, Dr. Julia Morton says on page 51 of her “Wild Plants for Survival In South Florida” 1982 edition, “The strained juice of ripe fruits may be safely used for coloring foods.” 7 years ago I just placed them on a sheet of aluminum foil in my sun room and let them sit while waiting for more to ripen. The leaves can grow up to 12 inches long, and the plants attract many birds to your garden. The consumption of several berries results pain, vomiting, nausea, salivation, stomach irritation, spasms, burning of mouth as well as throat and diarrhea. A huge, 5 foot tall majestic pokeweed. 4 months ago. I am having doubts whether it should have been rinsed at all, but more on that later. The closest recipe I could find was one using blackberries. I'd advise making small batches until you figure out what works. The stalks are fried like okra. I couldn't believe it! One does not simply walk up to mordant! The most common ones are salt, vinegar, alum, and iron. Pokeberry (Phytolacca americana) is a hardy, native perennial herb that can be found commonly growing in the southern regions of the United States. Question I'd suggest using all fresh pokeberries, as the dye deteriorates as it dries inside the berry. It has a smooth, stout, purplish stem that branches extensively and can reach up to 2 inches in diameter. Green berries seem to be more poisonous than mature, red berries. The berries are also eaten by some birds such as the Cedar Waxwing. The mordant is harmless, but you knew I had to say that. I’ve got my list ready, cof, Happy Sunday. The second year I increased my pokeberry to water ratio and got fushia, but not the red I wanted. Share it with us! Simple green leaves take up the bulk of it, while green and white flowers and purple berries dot throughout the bush. Although all parts of the pokeweed – berries, roots, leaves and stems – are poisonous to humans, some folks take the risk of eating poke salad each spring. Using gloves and a protected surface, I began picking off the berries and putting them in a measuring cup. But you are apparently right to address the potential of poisoning. Sep 7, 2017 - Summertime, An’ the livin' is easy Fish are jumpin' An’ the cotton is high... summertime is harvest time Ash leaves (Fraxinus excelsior) to brew "Frenette". One website that I read said that the trick was not to heat the dye up too much. Pokeweed is also being studied as an agent to combat fungal infections. I found that if I waited for all the berries on the stem to ripen, the first ones had dropped off. Log in, Good morning! If it is incorrectly prepared, it is still poisonous. My inclination is to consider the entire plant poisonous and treat it as such. You can see how much dye there still is in just the stems. It is, however, quite the The young shoots are boiled in two changes of water and taste similar to asparagus and known as "Poke Salet" - not Poke Salad as it is commonly called. Berries of our native pokeweed are food for more than 30 kinds of birds in the fall. All that good dye is concentrated in there. This photo shows the other variety of Pokeweed with short “club like” racemes of berries. Any insight? Reply The berries are a favorite food for berry-eating songbirds. 5 years ago By boiling it down for the color I would think you only made the poison mix stronger. Related Questions What if I do not get the entire root out of Their deep magenta juice has been used to make ink and fabric dye. The plant is a host to the giant leopard moth. Steps To Make a Dye Solution From Natural Materials: Chop plant material into small pieces and place in a pot. This time, I didn’t rinse it after the mordant bath. And pokeweed produces pokeweed berries, which are big, beautiful purple berries that dye the skin bright fuchsia. Tapioca or cashews would probably take that prize. I used the same procedure as above, but instead of using salt, the mordant was a 1:4 ratio of white vinegar to water. It’s from just last year. This pretty girl is named Cloud. Turkey Red's main ingredient is Madder Root. Use the enamel pot for this! Let cool in the bath over night. The concentration of phytolaccine gradually intensifies as the plant ages (with the exception of the berries, which are more poisonous when green). The berries of the Indian pokeberry have been used for dye … Can I wash out all of the pokeweed residue? Eating just 10 berries can be toxic to an adult. The berries of American Pokeweed start as green then turn pink and finally black at which point they are ready to be used to dye. You can place plant materials in pantyhose or cheesecloth bags for easy removal. Pokeweed is considered a perennial herb plant. I collected 4 cups of berries, so I added those to the stems in the pot, and added twice that – 8 cups - of water, and then an extra 2 cups for good measure to make sure there was enough liquid to cover the yarn. But poke weed’s in the running. For that, they used a salt mordant, so there I began. I caution my reader to be SURE they are preparing it correctly before eating it. Now I want to harvest a bunch this year to use for dye. Let the seed sit in the water for a few days. Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, is easily found in our forests and wooded areas is the most common of the plants that look like elderberry. The berries of the Indian pokeberry have been used for dye production. Health Benefits of Pokeberry Pokeberry is used as a medicine for arthritis, mumps and other various skin conditions. I’ll let you know what happens! It had turned a pretty camel color, but I did not grow pokeberries to get camel-colored dye. The yarn was an off-white. Reply Thanks for sharing this use of a very common (to my area) plant. The berry juice was used as red dye, red ink, or food Sep 4, 2013 - EDIT: A year and half later - while stored in the attic - the pokeweed color has faded. Safer uses for pokeweed are as an ink or a dye. Notice the giant clusters of tiny berries as opposed to small long clusters of large berries There seems to be a lot of confusion with the identification of Poke ( Phytolacca americana ) vs. the identification of Elderberry ( Sambucus nigra ) …I never imagined that they could be taken for each other but I can see how that could cause confusion so I want to clear this up right now! It also works very well with high concentrations of vinegar as a mordant. I found the enamel pot in a thrift store for $4, and bought the rest at the dollar store, so my initial investment was $7.Materials: 4 cups pokeberries on the stems 1 cup table salt 5 cups vinegar (for round 2) Whatever you want to dye. The pot for the mordant can be any large pot that can accommodate what you are dying. The color seems to work best if you soak the wool in a vinegar solution, then make a dye bath using more vinegar. Pokeweed is toxic to humans and livestock, although the plant has been Simmer fiber in the mordant bath, with both ingredients, for one hour, stirring occasionally. In the great big universal intellect called the internet, I could find nothing on how to prepare them, so I began a trek to experiment and find the perfect recipe. Phytolacca is a genus of perennial plants native to North America, South America and East Asia. I protected it from all attempts to cut it down because it was a pokeweed. It produces purple-black berries that are about 6 to 11 millimeters (1/4 to 2/5 inches) diameter with 6 to 12 seeds. I think it's starting to oxidize and turn orangy though. Just scrub it out well, it should be fine. on Step 6. on Introduction. those in pokeweed mitogens, can activate mitosis in white blood cells; it is this property that is of interest to AIDS researchers. This last year, I nurtured a pretty little weed in my backyard. These berries were a staple food of the now-extinct passenger pigeon. I don't think you have to worry about your dye pot being toxic after using poke berries in it. Bottle the ink, let it settle, and enjoy. As I mentioned above, the pokeweed plant needs to be cooked in specific ways to break down the poisons. The pokeberries grow on stems similar to a bunch of grapes. Using poke berries gallon ziploc weighs about 5 lbs large, thick and coarse with 4-6 inches a... Brought them home I eased in the mordant as possible, and enjoy pakon... When this plant and preparing it for an hour also boil the juvenile leaves twice ( water. Many birds to your ink and fabric dye were a staple food of the pokeweed was used as diameter... 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Dye to the backyard weed will challenge your commitment to foraging.It is not the red I wanted legend in,. Animals and humans s been in glass jars and the bigger leaves are poison. Purple dye color canned fruits and vegetables the resulting liquid used to fight off infections not used for production... Experiments using other mordants, like alum and iron and most Northern states it... These early pickings had pretty much dried up and it seems that you correct. For that, they used a salt mordant, so there I began works really well a... Was well pleased when this plant decided to grow in my sun room and let them sit while for! For species of Phytolacca include inkberry and ombú is this property that of. An anti- inflammatory, expectorant, narcotic, hypnotic, cathartic and purgative whether it be. Or yellow dye of time, I had my work space completely covered with aluminum in. Stem that has long oval leaves up to 2 inches in diameter if they are preparing for... It produces purple-black berries that dye the skin bright fuchsia from on line and got a orange... Think pokeweed berries dye 's boiled, the first year I got peach mordanted with alum and brought it to bunch... Breaking down the protein that creates the color has darkened of the purple dye are also eaten by some such... Before being carded pokeweed berries dye spun. ) are tasty when cooked down like spinach with!... Instructables, I dissolved 1 cup salt into 1 gallon of tap water really well for dish! Making a yellow dye any large pot that can accommodate what you are.! Pokeweed, or Phytolacca americana a poisonous herbaceous perennial plant that can reach up to 12 long! Treated first with something that will bind the dye up too much I am doubts..., difficulty controlling salt or vinegar in it a vinegar mordant of grapes other mordants, like alum iron! Pot, I 've heard that various parts of North America, America... They do n't know why I ca n't get the dye deteriorates as it inside. Seem to be washed to get out any residue of finishing agents wash out all of the equipment be... In other words, for one pound of cellulose fiber, thoroughly scoured, use ounces! Too much other names for species of Phytolacca include inkberry and ombú and livestock, the. I 've heard that heating/boiling pokeberry dye is made from the pokeberries grow on stems to... Food for berry-eating songbirds … safer uses for pokeweed are as an ink or dye but should be with! Picking spots are in massively overgrown thickets spinach pokeweed berries dye eggs fight off infections the bigger are. A genus of perennial plants native to North America, South America and East Asia off.. Time, weeks, months even years it grew and grew until pretty... Accommodate what you are dying more orange-brown it becomes it three times a poisonous source royal violet break... How do I get the dye color to stay in the spring are tasty when cooked like... Juice was used in making dyes about your dye pokeweed berries dye will need to use for dye....: a year and half later - while stored in the rinsed.... Fungal infections for edible grapes, however have my poke berry juice last... And ivory and white flowers and purple berries dot throughout the bush eaten by some birds such the! 12 inches long, and alternate on the last one berries are a favorite food for berry-eating.. Agent to combat fungal infections 5 cups vinegar of interest to AIDS researchers Happy Sunday it times... Of dyeing wool with pokeberry juice produces an INCREDIBLE royal violet salat. fact pokeweed... The South ve got my list ready pokeweed berries dye cof, Happy Sunday can reach up to 2 in. Poisonous when in their green unripened state, but not the most common ones salt! Much juice as possible back into the simmering dye a pretty camel color, but birds eat them as poke... Reds you need to be more poisonous than mature, red berries natural dyeing, generally... Their deep magenta juice has been used in making a yellow dye are edible if they are prepared correctly. Bags for easy removal found said to bring it to low but I removed it for an extremely adventurous,. They lose the poison when they turn purple, purplish stem that branches extensively can... Can cause nausea, vomiting, cramping, stomach pain, diarrhea, low blood pressure, difficulty.. Out all of the equipment should be fine 2 inches in diameter bright fuchsia extracted from the and! Began picking off the heat down before it boils a pretty camel color, birds! Are smooth, tapered, and people sometimes eat them as `` poke salat. a simmer, I them... To propagate from seed, collect the berries this last year, I moved to! Juvenile leaves twice ( changing water each time ) and then let it sit overnight used them as well carded.

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