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

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

A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. In Wicked Plants, Stewart takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature’s most appalling creations. It’s an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. You’ll learn which plants to avoid (like exploding shrubs), which plants make themselves exceedingly unwelcome (like the vine that ate the South), and which ones have been killing for centuries (like the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother).

Menacing botanical illustrations and splendidly ghastly drawings create a fascinating portrait of the evildoers that may be lurking in your own backyard. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, this compendium of bloodcurdling botany will entertain, alarm, and enlighten even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers.

Reviews
The cold nature of mother nature,
This is a thorough book, but don't take that the wrong way! It's full of charm and a sense of history, but it's really a book for the imagination. You will marvel at so many perilous things nature and pre-FDA entrepreneurs have in store for the unfortunate victims in this book. I don't want to ruin the surprises, but there's a lot of misfortune in this book!

Plenty of illustrations and stories, this makes a great lounge book for hosts who want a guest to have something to do for a few idle minutes.

The writing is intelligent and the topic is novel. I really appreciate that this is a carefully crafted and well thought out project, and you should come away wanting to meet the creative author.

But if anyone in your house wants to poison you, you better not leave this out!