are elderberries pokeberries?
It isn’t too hard to tell the difference between poke and elder; elderberries come in hand-shaped clusters while pokeberries are in a long, finger-shaped cluster. Look closely and you’ll see the difference immediately. Nutritionally, elderberry is a star. It’s loaded with almost twice the nutrients of blueberries across the board. This could be attributed to the fact that elderberry is considered a weed and grows mostly without human intervention, whereas blueberries are typically a commercially farmed product. Elderberries are a wonderful example of the nutritional difference between plants that are grown in the wild or organically and those that are produced commercially. Today, we have to eat more of the same thing to get the same nutritional value that was available from the same plant 50 years ago. There are 2 main differences between the two. Elderberry is woody and has bark while water hemlock does not. The leaves of both are serrated, but the leaf veins of water hemlock end in the notches between the teeth. Elderberry leaf veins end at the tips of the teeth or fade before reaching them. Pokeweed leaves and roots have been used in folk medicine for the treatment of chronic rheumatism and arthritis, and as an emetic and purgative. 2 The plant has also been used to treat edema, 3 skin cancers, catarrh, dysmenorrhea, mumps, ringworm, scabies, tonsillitis, and syphilis. At doses of 1 g, dried pokeweed root is emetic and purgative. At lower doses of 60 to 100 mg/day, the root and berries have been used to treat rheumatism and for immune stimulation. However, there are no clinical trials that support these uses or doses. 36 , 37 , 38. The Guide To The Elderberry. What we know about elderberries and the elder plant. From history to elderberry syrup, giving you everything from start to finish. At doses of 1 g, dried pokeweed root is emetic and purgative. At lower doses of 60 to 100 mg/day, the root and berries have been used to treat rheumatism and for immune stimulation; however, there are no clinical trials that support these uses or doses. Pokeweed is an ubiquitous plant found in areas such as fields, along fences, and in damp woods. Pokeweed is indigenous to eastern North America, and widely naturalized in Europe, the West Indies, and Asia. This vigorous shrub-like perennial can grow up to 4 m from a heavy tap root. The reddish stem has large pointed leaves that taper at both ends. Pokeweed poisonings were common in eastern North America during the 19th century, especially from the use of tinctures as antirheumatic preparations and from ingestion of berries and roots that were mistaken for parsnip, Jerusalem artichoke, or horseradish.
No, elderberries are not pokeberries.