All parts of the plant are poisonous to humans and other mammals, but not to birds, who love the berries.
Like all berries, they are designed to be eaten, and the seeds are designed to pass through the intestine of the bird or mammal that eats them, thus propagating the parent plant.
In addition to the seeds, the purple pigment also passes through birds and their excretions stain anything they touch. They are the bane of anybody who wants to put laundry or anything else out to dry on a line, and they still might be a nuisance to anybody who has a white automobile or is fussy about the purity of their concrete walk.
The toxins in the plant are strongest in the root, less so in the leaves, and least in the berries. How poisonous? Hard to tell. The details are poorly documented. Not instantly fatal, though the symptoms of pokeweed poisoning sound pretty bad, with vomiting and convulsions.
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