A berry of August

I took this photo Aug. 19. What you see here are the green berries of a plant called polkberry, polkweed or polk sallet. When the berries ripen, they will be dark purple.

This is a common native shrub that dies back to the ground each autumn. The root system stays alive, and the following spring the upper stalks regrow.

This plant as well as its seeds are poisonous to mammals. Humans may get away with eating the leaves by vigorously boiling them, but I don't recommend it. Various songbirds eat the ripe berries. The tiny seeds remain viable as they go through the bird's digestive tract.

I especially liked the spiderwebs tangled among the berries on this foggy morning.