Saturday, August 8, 2009

Something Wicked This Way Grows...

Another fantastic book that is sure to delight any botany enthusiast! Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities "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. Amy 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."

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"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."

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Brooklyn, New York) is hosting a live Wicked Plants exhibition through Sunday, September 6th! If you live in the Brooklyn area go check it out! Briony Morrow-Cribbs, who created the botanical illustrations for the book, also has her hand-tinted botanical prints on display! I wish I could go!

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"Visitors will come face to face with the potentially menacing powers of species that have the capacity to puncture, imprison, poison, and otherwise wreak havoc—as well as those that heal and salve."

See also: The Poison Diaries

2 comments:

cavesoflilith said...

ha! what a wonderful find. :]
it's officially been added to my wishlist ;P

Nicomi Nix Turner said...

Oooh, how interesting~