Common Name: POKEWEED FAMILY Habit: [Annual to] perennial herb [to tree], generally +- glabrous. Leaf: alternate, simple, entire, generally petioled; stipules 0 or vestigial. Inflorescence: spike, raceme [panicle], [axillary or] terminal (then often lateral, +- opposite a leaf, by growth of bud axillary to that leaf); bract 1; bractlets 2. Flower: generally bisexual, radial; sepals [4]5[10], fused at base, generally persistent; petals 0; stamens 4--many, generally on disk, free or fused at base, in 1--2 whorls or not; carpels generally 1--12, [free] to fused, ovary generally superior, carpels = styles, chambers in number, ovules 1 per chamber, stigmas linear or thread-like. Fruit: berry [achene, capsule, drupe, nut, samara]. Genera In Family: +- 18 genera, 130 species: +- worldwide, especially American tropics, subtropics. Note: A broad family concept adopted here, as many as 6 segregate families sometimes recognized by others. eFlora Treatment Author: John W. Thieret, final revision by Thomas J. Rosatti Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Habit: Perennial herb [to tree]; axes often +- red to purple. Flower: sepals 5[8], petal-like; stamens generally 5--30; carpels 5--12, +- fused. Fruit: berry, chambers 5--12. Seed: 1 per chamber. Etymology: (Greek, Latin: plant, crimson dye, from fruit color)
Phytolacca americana L. var. americana
NATURALIZED Habit: Plant to 3(7) m. Leaf: blade 8--35 cm, 3--18 cm wide, lanceolate to ovate; petiole 1--6 cm. Inflorescence: +- open raceme, spreading to generally drooping, (10)12--30 cm; peduncle to 15 cm; pedicel 3--13 mm. Flower: sepals +- equal, 2.5--3.3 mm, ovate to +- round, +- white to +- pink; stamens 10, generally in 1 whorl; carpels 6--12, fused at least in basal 1/2. Fruit: 6--11 mm diam, purple-black. Seed: 2.5--3 mm, lenticular, black, shiny. Chromosomes: 2n=36. Ecology: Uncommon. Disturbed areas, roadsides; Elevation: generally < 1000 m. Bioregional Distribution: CA-FP; Distribution Outside California: native to eastern United States. Flowering Time: Summer--fall Unabridged Note: Intermediates in eastern United States between Phytolacca americana L. var. americana -- pedicels in fruit > 6 mm, > fruit; inflorescence spreading to generally drooping, (10)12--30 cm; widespread, including California -- and Phytolacca americana L. var. rigida (Small) Caulkins & R.W. Wyatt -- pedicels in fruit < 6(7) mm, < fruit; inflorescence erect, 6--9(13.5) cm; Virginia to Texas; various plant parts sources of dye, food, medicine, yet poisonous to humans, other animals when ingested without careful, experienced preparation. Jepson eFlora Author: John W. Thieret, final revision by Thomas J. Rosatti Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) View the CDFA Pest Rating page for Phytolacca americana var. americana Weed listed by Cal-IPC Previous taxon: Phytolacca Next taxon: Phytolacca heterotepala
Botanical illustration including Phytolacca americana var. americana
Citation for this treatment: John W. Thieret, final revision by Thomas J. Rosatti 2012, Phytolacca americana var. americana, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=63756, accessed on April 22, 2024.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2024, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on April 22, 2024.
MAP CONTROLS 1. You can change the display of the base map layer control box in the upper right-hand corner.
2. County and Jepson Region polygons can be turned off and on using the check boxes.
(Note: any qualifiers in the taxon distribution description, such as 'northern', 'southern', 'adjacent' etc., are not reflected in the map above, and in some cases indication of a taxon in a subdivision is based on a single collection or author-verified occurence).
Data provided by the participants of the
Consortium of California Herbaria.
MAP LEGEND View all CCH records All markers link to CCH specimen records. The original determination is shown in the popup window.
Blue markers indicate specimens that map to one of the expected Jepson geographic subdivisions (see left map). Purple markers indicate specimens collected from a garden, greenhouse, or other non-wild location.
Yellow markers indicate records that may provide evidence for eFlora range revision or may have georeferencing or identification issues.
READ ABOUT YELLOW FLAGS
CCH collections by month
Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa, if there are more than 1 infraspecific taxon in CA.
Blue line denotes eFlora flowering time (fruiting time in some monocot genera).
