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Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds
by Rebecca E. Hirsch
Explore the strange and remarkable stories of poisonous and even deadly plants.
"Should you encounter any of the plants in this book, do not treat them lightly. They can kill you. Or cause you unbearable agony. Or land you in jail. Consider yourself warned."
Science, history, and true crime converge in an informative and exciting look at Mother's Nature's ghoulish garden. From a hallucinogenic fungus linked to the Salem Witch Trials to the weed that killed Abraham Lincoln's mother, learn how certain plants evolved toxicity to avoid being consumed by predators and became the predator on their own.
In A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants: Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds author Rebecca Hirsch takes you on a wild journey to look at how toxic chemicals in the natural world have been used for medicine, warfare, and sinister acts of foul plan. Tread lightly as we explore these plants' ominous deeds.
"The striking page design evokes a strong sense of the macabre and is reminiscent of dark academia ... An engaging, visually appealing guide for science buffs, true-crime enthusiasts, and herbalists alike." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Promising 'myth, mayhem, and murder,' this diabolical botanical guide delivers on all fronts ... Deliciously macabre and almost conspiratorial in tone, Hirsch's coverage is nicely rounded, pulling in traditional uses of many of these plants, some of which have medicinal treatments in small doses." ―Booklist
"Beautiful color photographs and drawings throughout the book make the plants easy to identify and bring their use throughout history into vivid focus. A memorable, enjoyable reference book, A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants combines often gruesome historical anecdotes with edifying botany lessons." ―Foreword Reviews
This information about A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Rebecca E. Hirsch is an award- winning children's author with a PhD in plant biology. Her picture books include Plants Can't Sit Still and Night Creatures: Animals That Swoop, Crawl, and Creep while You Sleep. She lives with her husband and three children in State College, Pennsylvania. You can visit her online at rebeccahirsch.com.
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