Subject: Re: Toxicity of pokeweed?
From: "Bill Robinson" <roseguy@flash.net>
Organization: Flashnet Communications, http://www.flash.net
Date: 7 Sep 1997 22:55:01 GMT
Message-ID: <MOD$970907.1042@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$970907.27310@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
dhs wrote,
>
> One of the elegant weeds I let grow in my new garden this year is
pokeweed.
snip
> is there any problem in just pulling it out and cutting the fruit/seed
away
> to discard them? is there any problem with using ther rest of the plant
in compost?
"Pokeweed", Phytolacca americana, is listed in _Perennials for American
Gardens_ by Clausen & Ekstrom and carries the notation that "all parts of
the mature plant are poisonous." My hunch is that the natural toxins in
Pokeweed would bio-degrade in the composting process but for what
purpose?
Bill