A Deathly Compendium of Poisonous Plants: Wicked Weeds and Sinister Seeds

by Rebecca E. Hirsch

Overview

"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."

Explore the strange and remarkable stories of poisonous and even deadly plants.

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 play. Tread lightly as we explore these plants’ ominous deeds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798765619544
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/22/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	25 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	13 - 14 Years

About the Author

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.

Editorial Reviews

"This compendium is perfect for science buffs, true-crime lovers, herbalists, and teens drawn to the macabre. A must-have for anyone with a curiosity about nature's most sinister secrets."—starred, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 2024-08-03
An introduction to the seemingly harmless flowers, leaves, and seeds that hold dark potential as unexpected tools for murder and warfare.

Appealing illustrations abound in this collection of facts and cautionary tales about the world’s most poisonous plants. Readers learn about familiar plants, such as tobacco, habanero chili, and poison ivy, along with more mysterious ones, such as henbane, mandrake, and aconite. Each chapter contains harrowing anecdotes about poison victims and subsections relaying scientific information and concludes with a detailed description of the plant’s toxic effects on humans (and sometimes animals, too). Hirsch includes a bulleted list of “Deadly Details” for each plant, providing surprising facts (“People have been poisoned by eating honey made by bees gathering nectar from heartbreak grass flowers”). The striking page design evokes a strong sense of the macabre and is reminiscent of dark academia. Botanical drawings and other images break up the blocks of text. Color photographs of the plants provide a glimpse of how these dangerous species appear in the wild. Bookended by a thoughtful prologue and cautionary epilogue, the contents are organized alphabetically, allowing for quick reference. Source notes, a selected bibliography of high-quality works, a comprehensive glossary, and teen-appropriate further resources (including a quirky blog by a professional horticulturalist) invite readers to continue their education beyond the text.

An engaging, visually appealing guide for science buffs, true-crime enthusiasts, and herbalists alike. (index, photo credits)(Nonfiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews