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

~ (Author), Briony Morrow-Cribbs (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

They may look sweet and innocent, but anyone who has ever broken out in a rash after picking a hyacinth blossom or burst into violent sneezing after sniffing a chrysanthemum knows that often the most beautiful flowers can pack the nastiest punch. This comes as no secret to mystery writers, who have long taken advantage of the nefarious properties of common garden plants to create the devices by which a deadly dose of poison is administered to an unsuspecting victim. But, as Stewart so entertainingly points out, such fiction is based on pure fact. There are plants that can kill with a drop of nectar, paralyze with the brush of a petal. From bucolic woodland streams choked by invasive purple loosestrife to languid southern fields overrun by kudzu, some plants are just more trouble than they’re worth. Culling legend and citing science, Stewart’s fact-filled, A–Z compendium of nature’s worst offenders offers practical and tantalizing composite views of toxic, irritating, prickly, and all-around ill-mannered plants. --Carol Haggas

Product Description

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1 edition (May 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565126831
• ISBN-13: 978-1565126831
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #736 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for plant-lovers and those just looking for a good yarn, May 24, 2009

By	Gen of www.LibraryOfEden.com (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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Length:: 4:17 Mins

I'm a huge fan of Amy Stewart, and I've read everything she's written, including her bimonthly gardening column in our local newspaper and her writing at Garden Rant, so I was thrilled when I heard about her latest book, Wicked Plants.

I'm a pro gardener and a total plant geek, so reading all about the wicked deeds of the plants I know and love (and learning some new ones as well!) was a blast. But you don't have to know or even care much about plants to enjoy this book.

Amy blends the human stories and the plant details with such humor and depth that even the black-thumbed among us will enjoy reading. As she says, "I looked for plants that had an interesting backstory. There had to be a victim - a body count."

She goes on, "These are plants you do not want to meet in a dark alley." Indeed not. When I read about Mussolini's guys chasing Communists down the streets with bottles of castor oil, a laxative made from the beautiful but deadly Castor Bean, I just howled with laughter. Earlier, I'd read with bated breath how the KGB injected a tiny pellet of ricin, from the same plant, into Communist defectors to murder them. I think I'd prefer being chased by the Fascists!

The book itself is gorgeously done, with hand-drawn copper etchings of the plants, brown detailing on the pages which makes it look deliciously ancient, and one of those cool ribbon bookmarks. It would make a great gift book, and indeed, I've already bought three copies to give to friends - it's just that nice of a book.

I'm lucky enough to live locally to Amy Stewart, and she invited me to do a video review of the book in her Wicked Plants-inspired poison garden. In the video, Amy introduces us to a few of the botanical miscreants she writes about. Check it out!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hemlock, Opium, and Ratbane, oh my!, June 17, 2009

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

Amy Stewart's //Wicked Plants// takes readers into the dark heart of the plant world, where innocent-looking berries kill and lovely flowers intoxicate. The book lists plant-life in alphabetical order, beginning with the deadly Aconite (responsible for killing two priests at a dinner party in 1856) to the Yew, known as "the graveyard tree" in England. Interspersed between the details of individual plants are quirky little lists: the plants used to make arrow poisons, commonly consumed crops that can prove fatal, the weeds of mass destruction hall of fame.

The details are fascinating. They include everything from the well-known (the Opium poppy as an illegal intoxicant), to the shocking (extract of Castor bean was allegedly used by KGB agents to murder a communist defector in 1978), to the downright bizarre (the Tanghin poison-nut was used in Madagascar as an ordeal poison).

Visually, the book is very pleasing, with nice old-fashioned text and delicate, detailed black and white copper etched illustrations. Ms. Stewart communicates her love of all things botanical with well-written and witty enthusiasm; her fascination is infectious. This book would be an admirable choice to read while sipping a cold drink (but hold the Hemlock!) in the garden.

Reviewed by
Michelle Kerns

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cold nature of mother nature, June 24, 2009

By	Dustin F - See all my reviews

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!