pigeon berry

9.9

A tall American plant with white flowers whose small dark fruits and roots are poisonous but young stems are edible

noun

: baya de paloma

Early settlers sometimes ate the young stems of pigeon berry as a vegetable.

Examples

Children are warned not to eat the pigeon berry because of its poisonous properties.
The garden was bordered by a thick stand of pigeon berry, its berries glistening in the sun.
The pigeon berry plant grows near the river.
I found some pigeon berries in the garden.
Children are warned not to eat the pigeon berry because its berries are poisonous.
Early settlers sometimes ate the young stems of pigeon berry as a vegetable, but the berries should be avoided.
The pigeon berry plant has beautiful white flowers, but its blackish-red berries are toxic.

Synonyms

poke

vspigeon berry

Specialized

1 9.9

A tall wild plant with white flowers and poisonous berries

gives a general herb description without naming the species

scoke

vspigeon berry

Archaic

9.9

A tall wild plant with white flowers whose young shoots you can eat but whose berries and roots are poisonous

does not mention the berries being on long drooping clusters

garget

vspigeon berry

Specialized

9.9

A tall wild plant with small white flowers whose young shoots people eat but whose berries and roots are poisonous

omits the detail of berries hanging in long drooping clusters

Phytolacca americana

vspigeon berry

Specialized

9.9

A tall North American plant with white flowers whose young shoots people cook but whose berries and roots are poisonous

uses plain herb wording rather than scientific naming or technical detail

Surface Forms

pigeon berry singular

pigeon berries plural

Morphology

pigeon + berry

The compound is compositionally built from 'pigeon' + 'berry', so a learner who knows both words would reasonably infer it denotes a kind of berry (likely associated with pigeons), making the basic referent predictable. However, the detailed botanical information (tall coarse perennial, edible stems but poisonous berries/roots) and toxicity cannot be derived from the constituents and the name is a relatively rare regional plant term, so full meaning requires prior exposure.

Etymology

Pigeon berry may come from a simple picture: people saw birds like pigeons eating the small red berries and started calling the plant after the birds. That's why the name means a plant with berries that attract birds, even though the berries can be poisonous to people.