What are these plants?

Behind my garage. They get to be about 6-8 feet tall. I initially thought rhubarb, but they’re not. Anyone know? 

Chicagoland if that matters. 

Pokeweed

Beat me by seconds

Pokeweed is a nuisance and attracts earwigs, which creep me the berkeley out.

Well, it ain't Mary Jane, I can tell ya that.

Thanks! Yep, looked that up. We’re goin postal on those things. 

Yup.  Pokeweed or Pokeberry.  I have tons of it.  Pops up everywhere that birds sit, since they eat the berries, and well, crap out the seeds.  Don't eat any part of it as it is toxic to humans, pets, and livestock.  The roots are especially toxic, the berries less so, although still dangerous.

Edit:  Might want to cover up.  Found this:  "Since the juice of pokeweed can be absorbed through the skin, contact of plant parts with bare skin should be avoided."

Was the movie Avatar filmed behind your garage?

It is poisonous. 
Kill it now before it spreads all over.

Roundup.

Some folks think it's tasty with bacon.

Poke Salad or Poke Sallet is a pretty common Southern dish, though I've eaten it several times, I never really liked it.

My grandma used to pick if from the fence rows, boil it, rinse it, then pan fry it with ham or bacon.

As recently as '14 SWMBO's grandpa (before his stroke halted his kitchen escapades) was still making it, SWMBO's brother loves it and would request it when he'd visit in the Summer.  His version was similar to my grandma's, with the addition of hard boiled eggs.

Don't eat the berries or the stems, just the leaves, just boil, drain, and rinse them a few times before consuming.

I like Poke Sallet.  It's best in the early spring when it's just coming up.

If you want to get rid of poke weed, don't bother to try to pull it up.  It'll just come back. Roundup works, 2-4 D probably works too

I just noticed you're in Chicagoland.  Proof of global warming.  You'll get fire ants next.

Thankfully it's not Hogweed.

In reply to 914Driver :

I just read of hogweed a few days ago for the first time. It can actually cause third degree burns.  I am going to give that E36 M3 a wide berth.!!

Don't pee in the bushes!

bigdaddylee82 said:

Some folks think it's tasty with bacon.

Poke Salad or Poke Sallet is a pretty common Southern dish, though I've eaten it several times, I never really liked it.

My grandma used to pick if from the fence rows, boil it, rinse it, then pan fry it with ham or bacon.

As recently as '14 SWMBO's grandpa (before his stroke halted his kitchen escapades) was still making it, SWMBO's brother loves it and would request it when he'd visit in the Summer.  His version was similar to my grandma's, with the addition of hard boiled eggs.

Don't eat the berries or the stems, just the leaves, just boil, drain, and rinse them a few times before consuming.

The version I've heard is that you have to boil and drain it three times to get the poison out, using new water each time. I can't imagine there'd be much of anything worth eating left in there after this treatment. Never heard of anyone being poisoned by contact with these plants, just by eating them. 

In addition to all of the above, the ripe berries will be dark purple and stain anything the touch.  This is a truly foul weed.

In reply to MadScientistMatt :

I've never cooked it myself, but that's more or less how I remember it being prepared as well.

I'll say if it's truly as dangerous as some of y'all are making it out to be, via skin contact, I'd be dead and gone long ago.  Similar to what WilD mentioned, when I was a kid, I got spankings a few times,  after my cousins and I ruined our clothes during a "poke berry war."

bigdaddylee82 said:

In reply to MadScientistMatt :

I've never cooked it myself, but that's more or less how I remember it being prepared as well.

I'll say if it's truly as dangerous as some of y'all are making it out to be, via skin contact, I'd be dead and gone long ago.  Similar to what WilD mentioned, when I was a kid, I got spankings a few times,  after my cousins and I ruined our clothes during a "poke berry war."

Not going to kill you on skin contact, just some mild dermatitis. It sounds like if there is enough contact, it can be absorbed and you'll experience mild symptoms.

bigdaddylee82 said:

 

I'll say if it's truly as dangerous as some of y'all are making it out to be, via skin contact, I'd be dead and gone long ago.  Similar to what WilD mentioned, when I was a kid, I got spankings a few times,  after my cousins and I ruined our clothes during a "poke berry war."

I didn't get any spankings over it, but I did wreck various items of clothing messing around in the woods around this stuff.  I used to make little "pit traps" and cover them with the stalks.  My parents didn't appreciate that much.  In any case, I too would be long gone if skin contact was all that deadly.

I berking hate that crap.  I've killed it by any physical means necessary, and never suffered any adverse effects.

FWIW, I don't know about global warming being required - pokeweed was all around where I grew up in eastern PA, even 40 years ago.

Duke said:

I berking hate that crap.  I've killed it by any physical means necessary, and never suffered any adverse effects.

FWIW, I don't know about global warming being required - pokeweed was all around where I grew up in eastern PA, even 40 years ago.

Yeah, looks like it is and has always been around the north.

My son is in Oregon for three days, picked up a rental car in Portland, stopped and got what they call Poke Salad.  You select two of three choices of raw fish and it's served over lettuce & vegies.  Google tells me there's Poke Salad and Poke Sallet.

Que?

914Driver said:

My son is in Oregon for three days, picked up a rental car in Portland, stopped and got what they call Poke Salad.  You select two of three choices of raw fish and it's served over lettuce & vegies.  Google tells me there's Poke Salad and Poke Sallet.

Que?

 

That'd be the Hawaiian Poke--often spelled Poké. Raw fish, very tasty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poke_(salad)

Yep, it was spelled with the apostrophe.

Thanks.