Hi, this is my first time posting, and unfortunately it’s concerning contradictory information about American Pokeweed. The information in the iNaturalist community is simply a copied Wikipedia article, but I am completely bummed no one bothered to check if the information was at least accurate. It states the plant is highly toxic to humans, but later in the article says it’s a human food source. I’m extremely concerned!
It’s both! My understanding is that pokeweed is toxic, but the toxicity can be abated by cooking (which is complicated and involves multiple rinses). This isn’t unprecedented and, in my opinion, offers amazing insight into how humans ingenuity has helped us adapt to many hostile environments.
That said, it seems like there’s opportunity for clarification. WIkipedia has standard mechanisms for improving it’s text. Maybe you could make an edit to help clarify for people who share your frustration?
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I’m not familiar with pokeweeds, but it can be both - potatoes are a staple crop, the foliage or fruit will poison you.
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It’s not copied; it’s a direct display of a Wikipedia page and was probably not created by anyone on iNat. You can edit it there if it is incorrect.
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As others have said, the plant is toxic to humans unless prepared. Look up ‘poke sallet’. iNaturalist always displays a short blurb from the Wikipedia article about the species.
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If it’s raw, older, or is a berry, it’s toxic, if it’s young, tender, meristematic, a shoot, and well cooked, it is a great food.
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Here is a great video on that:
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It’s ok while young and leaves need to be boiled a few times, it becomes more toxic as the plant gets older.
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As others have mentioned, it //can// be edible if preparred correctly.
So while it’s practically inedible, poisonous and not worth trouble of preparring, the blip of it as a potential food source is needing to be stated for the sake of clarity and truthfullness on information about the plant.
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Very young shoots are said to be edible. (I wouldn’t try them.) Berries and older leaves are a deadly toxin. So the contradictory information you found is correct.
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I have tried them. And I disagree with @MeeshMosh about it being practically indedible and not worth the trouble.
Glad you enjoyed it!
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The young leaves are edible. One source I read said boil, rinse, repeat twice more. What’s left after three boilings I can’t imagine. The song Poke Salad Annie by Tony Joe White is about Pokeweed. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyXHxh3Sye0
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