Mind-Altering and Poisonous Plants of the World - A Scientifically Accurate Guide to 1200 Toxic and Intoxicating Plants
Michael Wink and Ben-Erik van Wyk
Hardback, 464 pages, 175 x 245mm, USA, 2008. $130

>From the cover -

Since ancient times, mind-altering and poisonous plants have been used for hunting, murder, and magic. Most cultures of the world have learned to avoid these plants or to use them with discretion. Many of the plants are still widely used as traditional medicine for their therapeutic value in the treatment of diseases. Others are popular as recreational drugs or for ceremonial and spiritual purposes.

This guide gives the reader a bird's-eye view of all the famous and well- known mind-altering and poisonous plants of the world. The book is presented as a compact, colorful, and scientifically accurate reference text. It covers more than 1200 of the most important plants that people are likely to be exposed to. More than 200 are treated in depth in short monographs, covering their diagnostic characters, region of origin and distribution, active ingredients, toxicity, symptoms of intoxication, and possible modes of action. Each monograph provides information on first aid treatment. A special focus is on psychoactive plants, which can have stimulant, sedative, hypnotic, narcotic, or hallucinogenic properties, such as coca, opium, cannabis and scopolamine.

This book is a must for gardeners, farmers, veterinarians, students, botanists, pharmacists, chemists, doctors and poison control centers.