Any ideas on this one?

[benali]

I have a cluster of these growing on my property near lake Michigan.

They grew there wild. In this one season, they've grown to about 2' to 4' tall.

The berries mature into blue-black color -- just like elderberries. But the leaves are not oppositely arranged like elderberries. Also, the berries appear in rows, rather than clusters, like they would for elderberries.

Finally, their stalks are redish and weedy, rather than woody, so I would guess they're weeds rather than baby bushes or trees.

Any ideas? Thank you for your help.

[applestar]

This is pokeweed. The berries are favored by berry eating wildbirds like robins and cardinals, mockingbirds and catbirds. In fact, in my garden, the migrating robins stop and strip them bare in the fall.

The plants are perennial and can become weedy, especially since they are started by seeds dropped in birds poop. The plants will eventually grow almost as tall as elderberry shrubs even though they are winterkilled and re-grow in spring. So it’s better to only let them grow in designated areas of the garden.

Berries are mildly toxic unless fully mature, do be careful to teach your children if you have little ones. My DD’s used to play ONLY with fully ripe ones For the colored juice as water color paint and dye..., knowing not to put in mouth and To wash hands well. Spring emerging very young shoots are considered wild forage but must be prepared according to knowledgeable recipe.

[benali]

Thank you, @applestar, you can identify more plants than a professor!

I never would have guessed it was pokeweed. I thought it looked pretty but I better pull it out as there are young kids around here.

Every year, there's one weed that unexpectedly seems to thrive in less tended areas around here. This year, it's pokeweed.