Phytolacca americana var. americana

Phytolacca americana var. americana

Poisonous if eaten

Native status unresolved in Mississippi. Not suggested for planting. How scores work Is it native here?

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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

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 3 Mississippi counties.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · 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

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

17BirdsRecorded eating Phytolacca in Mississippi

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Mississippi, most records first.

Cedar WaxwingFruit. 4 diet records
American Crow1 diet record
American RobinFruit. 1 diet record
Common Grackle1 diet record
Eastern BluebirdFruit. 1 diet record
Eastern KingbirdFruit. 1 diet record
Eastern Wood-peweeFruit. 1 diet record
European Starling1 diet record
Hermit ThrushFruit and seeds. 1 diet record
Northern CardinalFruit. 1 diet record

Show all 17

Red-winged Blackbird1 diet record
Rock Pigeon1 diet record
Swainson's ThrushFruit and seeds. 1 diet record
VeeryFruit and seeds. 1 diet record
White-eyed Vireo1 diet record
Yellow-bellied FlycatcherFruit. 1 diet record
Yellow-throated Vireo1 diet record

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Birds that eat Phytolacca 17

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Cedar Waxwing
Bombycilla cedrorum
Fruit. 4 diet records
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
1 diet record
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
Fruit. 1 diet record
Common Grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
1 diet record
Eastern Bluebird
Sialia sialis
Fruit. 1 diet record
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Fruit. 1 diet record
Eastern Wood-pewee
Contopus virens
Fruit. 1 diet record
European Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
1 diet record
Hermit Thrush
Catharus guttatus
Fruit and seeds. 1 diet record
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
Fruit. 1 diet record
Red-winged Blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
1 diet record
Rock Pigeon
Columba livia
1 diet record
Swainson's Thrush
Catharus ustulatus
Fruit and seeds. 1 diet record
Veery
Catharus fuscescens
Fruit and seeds. 1 diet record
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
1 diet record
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Empidonax flaviventris
Fruit. 1 diet record
Yellow-throated Vireo
Vireo flavifrons
1 diet record

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: PHYTOLACCACEAE

What its natural habitat tells you

Conservation status

Mississippi rank	SNR
Global rank	Not available
MS status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source

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