ABSTRACT
Pokeroot comes from Phytolacca americana L. (family Phytolaccaceae), a large, much-branched, perennial herb that bears rather spectacular clusters of dark purple, almost black, berries. The plant is a wayside weed from New England to Texas. If there is any ailment for which pokeroot has not been recommended, it is simply because the herbalists have not yet thought of it. It is variously described as an alterative, cathartic, emetic, a narcotic, and a gargle, as well as a remedy for conjunctivitis, cancer, dyspepsia, glandular swelling, chronic rheumatism, ringworm, scabies, and ulcers.1
