Thanks for such an insightful reply @haphazard-hstead!!! I've seen pokeweed on occasion here in the Northeast US, but never dared to try and eat it. Wikipedia did mention that pokeweed berry juice was used long ago to color wine. And I did read on another website about how you can strain/drain away liquid to make them less toxic. However, I'm guessing that trying to make a stew with pokeweed roots could actually win you a Darwin award ;-)

And yes, it is a very cool looking plant. When I saw such a large grouping of them, I just had to stop and photograph them.