num_pages: 172
description: "Examining everything from mushrooms to marijuans, orchids to oleander, monkshood to mandrake, &amp; poppies ot poison ivy, Edard Ricciuti gives an absorbing account of the perverse fascination plants have held for man --leading to such excesses as human sacrifice, torture &amp; murder. The abuse of plant-derived poisons is traced from its origins in primitive fertility rites to mass murders, jungle warfare &amp; today's drug culture. Mr. Ricciuti describes the poison-for-profit schools in medieval Italy &amp; poisoning by cup of royalty in Elizabethan England, as well as offering compelling evidence to suggest that those claiming torture by witches during the Salem witch trials were suffering not from evil magic but from the ergot fungus, the plant source of LSD. The Devil's Garden also provides practical information on the poisonous plants of everyday life, both houseplants &amp; those that are outdoor hazards to children &amp; adults." Contents include: Intro: The Darker Side of Plants / A Supernatural Botany / Plants and Sex / Death in House &amp; Garden / Peril in Forest &amp; Field / Exotic Dangers, Here and There / Plants, War and Murder / The Natural &amp; Unnatural History of Dangerous Drugs / index.
language: English
title: The devil's garden: Facts and folklore of perilous plants
titlecomplete: The devil's garden: Facts and folklore of perilous plants
genres: Nature, History
ratings_count: 15
publisher: Walker