Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities
Written by Amy Stewart
Illustrated by Briony Morrow-Cribbs
Published by Algonquin Books • 2009
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. Stewart takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature's most appalling creations in an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend.Menacing botanical illustrations and splendidly ghastly drawings create a fascinat-ing 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.
