Nonfiction

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

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

  • Downloads：8641
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-06-14 09:55:31
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Amy Stewart
  • ISBN：1565126831
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

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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Reviews

Kenneth ，

I really enjoyed the read and am anxiously awaiting to read more from Amy Stewart。

Alizee ，

Very interesting and accessible to all。 I’m unfortunately not gifted with plants， and it’s kind of fun to learn about the most wicked of them all - and there are plenty。

Hall ratings ，

This peek behind the curtain reveals an assortment of not-so-nice people， all with agendas and baggage who are often at cross purposes。

Brandon Scott ，

It was sort of what i expected but got hung up on all the plant naming over and over again。 I really enjoyed the stories or mysteries behind the plants and how they were used。 Just a little to phylum and plant lineage for me。 But if thats your thing probably bumps it up a couple of 🌟

Max Mason ，

Your garden can kill you， so don't trust that plant！ "Angel Trumpets" may sound heavenly， but they are spawns of Satan in the garden world， deadly poisonous！ A fun read for the local garden club， Stewart will make you think twice about "smelling the roses"！ Your garden can kill you， so don't trust that plant！ "Angel Trumpets" may sound heavenly， but they are spawns of Satan in the garden world， deadly poisonous！ A fun read for the local garden club， Stewart will make you think twice about "smelling the roses"！ 。。。more

Mary ，

This was a fun little quick read with some interesting information and a few historic anecdotes。 I only wish the book had included actual photos of the plants in addition to the etchings。 Some of the historic references， anecdotes， and stories were too short or glossed over the facts。 Overall though， a fun little read！

Becca ，

Listened to the audio version of this book which ultimately had me Googling every 5 minutes to get a visual of all the different plants being described。 All in all， a wonderful and informative book。 As someone who works outdoors， and enjoys trail running/hikes， it was packed full of interesting information I can definitely put to use in the future。 I learned a few fun facts to boot。

Lisa Wolf ，

An A-Z guide to all sorts of weird and deadly plants。 It's interesting， but don't expect a narrative。 This is a great little book to leave on your nightstand and randomly open for a page or two。 An A-Z guide to all sorts of weird and deadly plants。 It's interesting， but don't expect a narrative。 This is a great little book to leave on your nightstand and randomly open for a page or two。 。。。more

AG Aps ，

jätsin pooleli aga istuma teiste taimeraamatute kõrvale， kui peaks tekkima huvi või vajadus mõne "kurja" taime kohta rohkem teada saada x） jätsin pooleli aga istuma teiste taimeraamatute kõrvale， kui peaks tekkima huvi või vajadus mõne "kurja" taime kohta rohkem teada saada x） 。。。more

Dawn Michelle ，

Good read; love a good book about poisons！！ This would have been five stars， but there is some repetition that got annoying over time。 For the most part， this was really awesome， and it was just what I needed to get out of the emotional funk I was in。 Now。。。just whom can I send Corpse Flowers to？？ BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA！！！ ;-）

L。L。 ，

Książka podobnie jak "Zbrodnie robali" jest w porządku， ciekawa， chociaż podobnie jak tamta wydaje mi się za krótka， szybko się czyta （choć tą czytałem przy komputerze googlując niemal wszystkie rośliny ;） ）， nawet trochę za krótko rośliny są opisane moim zdaniem， a zamiast tego jest dużo powtórzeń - może miała być taka forma jak poradnik。。。 chociaż to tak trochę jakby autorka chciała tą książkę napisać w każdej formie - miała być też zabawna。。。 no ok， choć ten humor to już tutaj też na granicy Książka podobnie jak "Zbrodnie robali" jest w porządku， ciekawa， chociaż podobnie jak tamta wydaje mi się za krótka， szybko się czyta （choć tą czytałem przy komputerze googlując niemal wszystkie rośliny ;） ）， nawet trochę za krótko rośliny są opisane moim zdaniem， a zamiast tego jest dużo powtórzeń - może miała być taka forma jak poradnik。。。 chociaż to tak trochę jakby autorka chciała tą książkę napisać w każdej formie - miała być też zabawna。。。 no ok， choć ten humor to już tutaj też na granicy przesady jest （na szczęście jeszcze jej nie przekracza）。 No i jest kilka literówek w nazwach （nie "Laskotnica pękająca" tylko "Łoskotnica pękająca"）， no chyba że to wina pliku （ale chyba nie？）Dodatkowo kilka roślin mnie zainteresowało na tyle żeby je może hodować （hiacynt wodny czy może inne wodne， Lophophora williamsii， mandragora， może groszek pachnący na balkon， lantana， lilia doniczkowa。。。 coś wybiorę ;） ）。（czytana: 25-27。04。2021）4-/5 。。。more

Jason ，

I listened to this as an audiobook and it was a suboptimal experience - this feels best as a reference book。 Still interesting。

Kate P ，

Perfection。

Chadwick Watters ，

A fine book with a lot of information。 I tried it as an audiobook， which I would not recommend。 Pictures would have made it a much better experience and the excerpts on each plant are so short it’s easy to get lost with audio only。

Heather ，

I wanted this to be so much more interesting than it ended up being。 Probably better as an actual book and not an audiobook， which is how I read it。 I might try again so I can see the pages。

Einar Jensen ，

I read Amy Stewart’s Wicked Plants from cover to cover， but it is probably more useful as a reference book than a “narrative。” It’s not written as a story; it’s a list of plants and their repugnant characteristics: “the sordid lives of plants behaving badly。” Stewart shares just enough information about scores of hazardous plant species to remind readers that ignorance may not be bliss。 She targets plants that cause death， illness， injury， discomfort， and inconvenience among humans and other cri I read Amy Stewart’s Wicked Plants from cover to cover， but it is probably more useful as a reference book than a “narrative。” It’s not written as a story; it’s a list of plants and their repugnant characteristics: “the sordid lives of plants behaving badly。” Stewart shares just enough information about scores of hazardous plant species to remind readers that ignorance may not be bliss。 She targets plants that cause death， illness， injury， discomfort， and inconvenience among humans and other critters。 The book includes sketches of some plants; photographs would be more useful but also would make the book more expensive。 I read it as the basis of a risk reduction presentation; I’ll keep it handy to understand my ecological context better。 。。。more

Kim ，

readingwomen #11I love these kinds of books because I am fascinated by all the things going on in nature that we barely notice as be plunge through life in all out big clumsiness。After this book and Stewart's book on bugs I am starting to feel like nature doesn't really want us here - there are so many sneaky ways it tries to poison us， hurt us or just straight up kill us。 readingwomen #11I love these kinds of books because I am fascinated by all the things going on in nature that we barely notice as be plunge through life in all out big clumsiness。After this book and Stewart's book on bugs I am starting to feel like nature doesn't really want us here - there are so many sneaky ways it tries to poison us， hurt us or just straight up kill us。 。。。more

Daniel Watkins ，

Enjoyable and light。 I would have liked a bit more depth and context for many of the plants （at the expense of describing less plants if need be）。

Carole Fox ，

The illustrations in the book are totally useless in identifying harmful and poisonous plants。 The descriptive text is not much better。 At best， the book is a curiosity。

Gracious Plum ，

Very interesting but seems that a lot of the plants mentioned are found in USA。。。 Still， an interesting read！

M ，

Great intro into botany。 The plants， and fungi the book talks about are diverse and fall between the deadly， gross， trippy， and painful。 If you want something more medically based， this book may not be for you， but if you want a cool little book to read whenever you're out and about， give it a try。This book also is great for kids interested in science， although I would certainly be wary about giving it to kids too young to handle the topic。 Preteens and teens may love it。 Great intro into botany。 The plants， and fungi the book talks about are diverse and fall between the deadly， gross， trippy， and painful。 If you want something more medically based， this book may not be for you， but if you want a cool little book to read whenever you're out and about， give it a try。This book also is great for kids interested in science， although I would certainly be wary about giving it to kids too young to handle the topic。 Preteens and teens may love it。 。。。more

Kayla ，

Though many of the sections are brief， this book is chalk full of fun and interesting information and facts。 Sections include poisonous plants， dangerous plants， deadly plants， carnivorous plants， explosive plants， mushrooms， and many many others。 A fun read for spring that isn't your typical gardening or plant book。 10/10 would recommend。 For a nonfiction book it was a relatively quick read。 Though many of the sections are brief， this book is chalk full of fun and interesting information and facts。 Sections include poisonous plants， dangerous plants， deadly plants， carnivorous plants， explosive plants， mushrooms， and many many others。 A fun read for spring that isn't your typical gardening or plant book。 10/10 would recommend。 For a nonfiction book it was a relatively quick read。 。。。more

Daisy Anna ，

I really enjoyed dipping into this！ There were some great facts （I particularly liked the exploding plants） and some stunning illustrations。 Great fun！

Angela ，

i only read this because i've had a physical copy of it since like 2016。 this is bad ethnobotany and weird moralizing and apolitical descriptions of explicitly political choices （like the war on drugs）。 i can tell without looking that the author is white--africa is collapsed into one country; indigenous peoples in North America are collapsed into a monolith。 pretty pictures though。 i only read this because i've had a physical copy of it since like 2016。 this is bad ethnobotany and weird moralizing and apolitical descriptions of explicitly political choices （like the war on drugs）。 i can tell without looking that the author is white--africa is collapsed into one country; indigenous peoples in North America are collapsed into a monolith。 pretty pictures though。 。。。more

Vanessa ，

This was interesting。 Its like a short dictionary of Wicked plants so its information gathering。 I did learn and will never again try some berries while on a hike， even if other hiker's say they are ok。 I tried Salmon Berries in Alaska。 Turns out they are ok and have bought Jam of these。 Don't want to trust what may harm me。Thanks to Sonia from MG for lending it to me。 This was interesting。 Its like a short dictionary of Wicked plants so its information gathering。 I did learn and will never again try some berries while on a hike， even if other hiker's say they are ok。 I tried Salmon Berries in Alaska。 Turns out they are ok and have bought Jam of these。 Don't want to trust what may harm me。Thanks to Sonia from MG for lending it to me。 。。。more

Karen GoatKeeper ，

Warning: Never taste test a plant you don't recognize。 It might make you regret it， if you even survive。This little book is filled with plants listed as deadly， destructive， intoxicating， illegal， dangerous， painful and more。 The entries include drawings， plant info for places found， family， habitat etc。， and stories about the plants。It is a slow book to read as it is like reading an encyclopedia。 Every few listings， I found it necessary to take a break to consider what I just read。 Other than t Warning: Never taste test a plant you don't recognize。 It might make you regret it， if you even survive。This little book is filled with plants listed as deadly， destructive， intoxicating， illegal， dangerous， painful and more。 The entries include drawings， plant info for places found， family， habitat etc。， and stories about the plants。It is a slow book to read as it is like reading an encyclopedia。 Every few listings， I found it necessary to take a break to consider what I just read。 Other than that， the book was interesting and easy reading。Knowing more about plants I encounter every year will make me more careful， but by and large， most plants are benign。 A good many wild plants are tasty additions to a meal。 Just heed the warning above。 。。。more

Tracy ，

Really interesting look at plants that can kill， irritate， or just make you really ill。 Interestingly， I just finished a book where the plant Angel's Trumpet was used rather ingeniously and that was in this book。 I thought this was a fascinating book。 It ran the gamut from poison ivy to death camas （a new favorite because it grows in Utah and our post office is in Kamas） and had lots of plants that I had never heard of in the book。 I also found the section on ordeal poisons and water hyacinth to Really interesting look at plants that can kill， irritate， or just make you really ill。 Interestingly， I just finished a book where the plant Angel's Trumpet was used rather ingeniously and that was in this book。 I thought this was a fascinating book。 It ran the gamut from poison ivy to death camas （a new favorite because it grows in Utah and our post office is in Kamas） and had lots of plants that I had never heard of in the book。 I also found the section on ordeal poisons and water hyacinth to be terrifying。 There are so many ways to kill yourself in the natural world if you don't know what you are doing！ 。。。more

Kelli ，

This was an intriguing read！

Jeffrey Hammerhead ，

Loved the interesting stories she told about each plant

Holly M ，

I was expecting stories of famous poisonings， but this reads more like a brief field guide without being either。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0