American Pokeweed
Phytolacca americana
Found in forests and woodlands. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Poisonous if eaten
Native to Alabama. Not suggested for planting. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 4–10 feet
- Spread
- 3–5 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Poisonous if eaten. All plant parts are poisonous to people and pets. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- May to November
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
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Recorded in 64 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Phytolacca
- Disclisioprocta stellataSomber Carpet, Bougainvillea Looper
- Herpetogramma aeglealisSerpentine Webworm
- Hypenula cacuminalisLong-Horned Owlet
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Parapoynx obscuralisObscure Pondweed Moth
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
18BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Phytolacca
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
22BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Phytolacca
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Bombycilla cedrorumCedar Waxwing
- Cardinalis cardinalisNorthern Cardinal
- Catharus fuscescensVeery
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus minimus/bicknelliGray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Columba liviaRock Pigeon
- Contopus virensEastern Wood-Pewee
- Corvus brachyrhynchosAmerican Crow
Show all 22
- Ectopistes migratoriusPassenger Pigeon
- Empidonax flaviventrisYellow-bellied Flycatcher
- Francolinus francolinusBlack Francolin
- Quiscalus quisculaCommon Grackle
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
- Vireo flavifronsYellow-throated Vireo
- Vireo gilvusWarbling Vireo
- Vireo griseusWhite-eyed Vireo
- Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
1AntsRecorded seed interactions
- Pogonomyrmex badius
Pogonomyrmex badius: Seed predation.
No records yet · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Phytolaccaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–8b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Green or white
- Growth rate
- Rapid
- Growth habit
- Single stem
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–8b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–10 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “3–5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications