Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities

I was surprised when I began reading "Wicked Plants....Although it is a small book, embellished with line drawings, it is rather like a dictionary in style. That is, alphabetical, among different sections depending upon the category the author places the plants. I think it is quite informative in an easy to read style. The most annoying thing is the old magazine editor gimmick of making a little box quoting a bit of text from the same paragraph I am reading. Quite unnecessary, and pads the book pages, I so dislike paying for needless repetition. The paper of the pages feels odd, it has a slightly rough surface, which I noticed as I smoothed open the pages before reading. Also, I noticed the binding doesn't have the front and back blank pages to adhere to the coverboards and spine, which seems like an odd economy to me, as I have handled thousands of books, and not seen this before. This means additional stress to the book cover as the book is open, yet the spine has a flexible fabric strip. The page numbering is odd, it's 2/3 way down the page in the margin in a decorated box, but the index uses the page number for each entry, so it's not so easy to find the page wanted. Other than these quirks, the book has very good information, usually with a little story attached to each plant listed. There is a good bibliography. I was surprised at the sound quality of the information. I like the dry humor, and the short format. The author keeps it brief, but the important facts are presented in plain English. It's good for people who are concerned that they may have poisonous houseplants, etc. Some common names, local names and Latin names are provided.

This is one of my favorite books. Highly recommend!!!

Another great title from this author. A fun read with excellent information for the gardener who appreciates the edgier plants.

Easy, enjoyable read. Very good choice if you need to know a little about many plants. Like spending the day with a poisonous plant expert who can tell you something about everything and make it interesting. The book was perfect for me because I wanted to know "what's out there" in a personal quest to understand the extent of food shortage after a supply chain disaster. The system that delivers our food is so finely tuned and we are so dependent on it that if there were a major disruption in the food supply, I believe most people would starve in a few months. There are no color photographs of plants, only hand sketches with little detail. The author occasionally makes an editorial comment that seems like your mother telling you to wear clean underwear but this doesn't detract from the overall content. Covers lots and lots of ground without getting technical, but that's good if you only need to know a little about many plants.

I love reading crime fiction, and got a kick out of this book just from the perspective of the many ways a plant can kill. But there are other considerations, too. As Amy Stewart says in the Introduction: "We'll brew a medicinal tea from unrecognizable bark and leaves that a friend passes along, assuming that anything natural must be safe. And when a baby comes home, we rush to add safety caps to electrical outlets but ignore the houseplant in the kitchen and the shrub by the front door – this in spite of the fact that 3,900 people are injured annually by electrical outlets while 68,847 are poisoned by plants." (This book was published in 2009.) The plants are presented in alphabetical order, and each is put into one of 7 categories. Several, you'll see, fall into more than one category: ....DEADLY. One example is the castor bean. In castor oil, the poisonous ingredient is processed out of the plant. But ricin, found in the seeds, is the poison used to kill Georgi Markov in 1978. Remember the soviet defector killed by a jab from an umbrella? ....ILLEGAL. The peyote cactus is in this category, though I believe the Supreme Court has given religious dispensation. It's actually pretty difficult to find in the desert now, because it's slow-growing and has been over-harvested. ....INTOXICATING. Speaking of plants you may grow at home, the Morning Glory has a surprise. It's seeds have small quantities of LSD. ....DANGEROUS. My Mom has planted Lobelia in her spring garden. But probably not the variety nicknamed "vomitwort". ....PAINFUL. Celery – yes, celery – is dangerous to eat in large quantities before sunbathing. It has "phototoxic compounds" which react to the sunlight. ....DESTRUCTIVE. Even I've heard of kudzu, introduced in the southern U.S. to abate soil erosion. Works great, except it never stops growing and is nearly indestructible: "This vine covers seven million acres in the United States. The damage it has caused is estimated in the hundreds of millions." ....OFFENSIVE. You don't want to plant the Squirting Cucumber in your garden. This juice of this species will cause vomiting and diarrhea. AND, "it's two-inch-long fruits are famous for bursting when ripe, squirting a slimy, mucuslike juice and seeds almost twenty feet away." I very much like the book's presentation. The pages are not totally white, but shaded as if it's a well-used gardener's notebook. Plants are shown by charming copper etchings by Briony Morrow-Cribbs. There are also some illustrations by Jonathon Rosen. The book doesn't have an index, but there's an extensive bibliography. Stewart's writing style is breezy and "Wicked Plants" is a lot of fun. If you haven't run across her books before, she wrote a 2011 companion book, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects And I enjoyed her 2013 foray into "The Plants that Create the World's Great Drinks", The Drunken Botanist Happy Reader

Very interesting with lots of information!

"Wicked Plants" introduces an utterly fascinating collection of deadly, intoxicating, dangerous, painful, destructive, and offensive plants. Arranged in alphabetical order, each plant listing is accompanied by interesting quotable facts and engaging anecdotes. What an eye opener! I was surprised that many ordinary house and backyard plants can be outright dangerous, causing among other things...skin sores, emesis, paralysis, delirium, and even heart failure. One of the many intriguing anecdotes was about the 1691 Salem witchcraft trials. Cereal grass caused the young Salem girls' bizarre behavior. But unfortunately, 19 people were hung for `casting spells' on these girls. Most of the listings are further accompanied by exquisite etchings and charming illustrations created by a duo of talented artists. These, in addition to the `aged' pages and cover, give the book a delightfully eerie, antique, and magical look. Ms. Stewart is a very gifted writer who has skillfully crafted a creative, well-researched book. With 68,847 people poisoned annually by plants, this enlightening book not only teaches us to have a cautious respect for plants but also does so in a very entertaining format. Now, what about that sub-title "The Weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's Mother and other botanical atrocities?" She got sick from milk and if you want to know how...read this enthralling book! I absolutely loved it! Very highly recommended!

The book was highly infotaining. My primary objection was that the illustrations lacked labels and appeared before and after sections with multiple plants, so it was impossible for me--botanically ignorant as I am--to tell what they were. Which rendered them lovely but useless.