I was surprised by most of this book. Some of these things I already knew, but even in the plants I read about that I thought I knew about, I learned unexpected things, whether it was mythology or historical usage or maybe a bit of both. It ended up being, quite frankly, one of the most illuminating plant books I’ve ever read. The accessible prose and the subject matter combined to create a book I both couldn’t put down and couldn’t stop thinking about. Desirable for the stunning cover and gorgeous interior illustrations alone, I wanted to include this nonfiction book about the shadow-lives of plants. Fez Inkwright gives a brief history of poisons and then includes an A-Z of the dark side of plants. It’s a handy guide that I know will be by my side for inspiration for a long time to come! Plant Your Roots in Botanical Gothic HurriCon, a now-biannual fundraiser event for the Bethany Congregational Church, was founded by community member David Donovan in 2018. My...

Botanical Curses and Poisons - The Shadow-Lives of Plants Botanical Curses and Poisons - The Shadow-Lives of Plants

Thank you so much to @turnaround_books and @liminal11 for sending me a copy of this stunning book in exchange for an honest review.

My Book Notes

Gamers never feel more present and alive than when their efforts come to fruition; GMs will weave crooked quests concerning the gathering of ingredients for poisons or curatives, players will brew concoctions of deadly verdance for the sake of good or ill. This is an essential companion for the darkly poetic, the riddler, the night elf. Imbue your Druids with dripping poison sap, your carefully whittled arrows with unspeakable banes, your potions with natural scourges. Create notable villains that offer vile physic - and wise player characters that plait thorns in their hair and might well have been raised in jagged-leaf nettle beds. But I really enjoyed my time with this, the witchy vibes are immaculate and this really is just such a beautiful book! The various connections drawn between the plants and both history and myth were really engaging as well and had me laughing more times than I thought (I mean, it's just a bit funny to read about a guy terrified of being poisoned, so he eats tiny amounts of poisons every day of his life and then finds he's immune to poisons when he tries to kill himself by using-you guessed it- poison). The book is a fascinating cornucopia, filled with a wealth of knowledge both botanical and historical so that reading it becomes more of a journey through the history of both herblore and folklore. Alongside the intricate descriptions of plants and their uses, I have loved reading the references to poets and writers which help to bring the book alive in such a glorious way. Inkwrite takes readers on a historical and educational journey throughout the history of plants, using many of them to showcase not just their properties, but how they have been used, and their darker capabilities. And yet it was the accessible nature of his writing that captivated me almost as much as anything else. I was afraid when I bought this book that it would be full of academic jargon and heavy textbook-style prose that would put me to sleep, but what I got here were overviews of countless plants and their stories told in a style that I found surprisingly immersive rather than anything else. Added along with the line drawings in each section, and I was hooked. Plus, I must say, the production quality of this book is out of this world. I don’t typically buy physical books anymore, but this is absolutely one I’m glad I bought. It’s just gorgeous, from cover to cover. Fez Inkwright is a Bristol-based author and illustrator whose main passions lie in conservation, folklore, and tattoo design, with heavy occult and ethnobotanical themes. She focuses on the significance of parts of our ecosystems that are often overlooked, such as common weeds and hedgerow plants, and aim to raise awareness of their vital importance to the health of our planet.

Review | Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Shadow-Lives of Review | Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Shadow-Lives of

The facts about the different plants, and the folklore and mythology that are included make it feel like such a rich tapestry of storytelling. Who knew that a book/almanac on poisons plants would bring me this much enjoyment? Seriously the way the author lures you in with mythology from all around the world is its own kind of witchcraft. The facts presented about the plants are as varied as the range of plants covered. Each entry might span many different cultures and touch on information like how plants got their name, how they were used during different time periods, what superstitions people had about them and why. (And if you’re an academic nerd like me, rest assured that it’s all very well cited!) The broad nature of the knowledge conveyed is cool because it gives a more thorough picture of what life is like in these different cultures. Names, in particular, have a lot to say about the societal values of a time. One of my favorite examples of that is Devil’s Bit, named because the highly medicinal roots were also abnormally short, leading people to believe that the devil “bit” off the rest of the roots so less medicine could be made from them. The different utilities people found for plants that are toxic are interesting too—for example, bug collectors used to place live specimens in a jar with crushed laurel leaves so the toxic fumes from the laurel would kill the insect without damaging it. There is a short introduction, but after this the book consists of an alphabetical compendium of plants. The author offers up science, history, and myth alike - I especially enjoyed the poetry that prefaced most of the entries. I found the writing very accessible and informative.

Wikipedia citation

Your first thoughts about gothic fiction may not include vicious, thriving plant life. But if you’re a nature-lover, I invite you to take a closer look at the subgenre called “botanical gothic.” The problem is, I don’t really grow flowers. I have an absolutely huge garden, but “flowers” is not really part of it. I grow vegetables and fruits, and a lot of them come from all around the world, but I don’t really grow flowers. So I knew when I set out to write this book that I needed to get books about flowers, and about the specific parts of them I need for this magic system. It is well known how plants have been used through time for healing and their medicinal properties, but as with all nature where there is good bad will surely follow.