For those that might remember an Elvis recording. Anyhow the poke salet is up and ready, a favorite spring green for antique southerners. Not many of us left tho. In the upper south creasy salet (Upland Cress) was also a staple after survivng a winter eating canned, dried, and stored root vegetables. For those interested salet in the southern Appalachian dialect was used for any boiled green.

I think I remember the Tony Joe White version. Do you have to take any precautions in cooking? Something is niggling at the back of my mind about it.

Most of us parboil for a few minutes, then drain and cook. It is moderately toxic especially the roots. In my youth I use to grub out the big roots dry them and sell them to the Chattanoga Medicine Company which made herbal medicines. I think they used it in laxatives. It is not a plant you want to eat raw. http://www.eattheweeds.com/can... I only use the leaves and shoots from emerging plants. One old time remedy for rheumatism was to make a tincture of the berries in white lightning.

Thanks for posting that link! Very interesting folklore. (And I think white lightning in itself is probably a good remedy for a lot of things. )

I remember the song well, and I'm pretty sure it was the Tony Joe White version. Funny thing was, I also remember finding cans of Poke Salat at one of the local grocery stores around the time that song was popular. Heh, haven't seen it since.