Short chapters introduce 25 poisonous plants (actually, 24 plants and one fungus) following a similar format for each, with most including sections titled “Wicked Weed” or “Sinister Seed” (as appropriate), “Bodily Harm” (impact on a human body, including the gross particulars), and “Deadly Details” (such as “Mandrake was a component of witches’ flying ointment—a concoction that when smeared on the skin produced powerful hallucinations of flight.”) Many chapters include a gruesome account of people killed by the plants, some historical and others more recent. The conversational and sometimes sassy tone employs “Dear Reader” moments to emphasize the serious dangers posed by encounters with poisonous plants. The book’s highly visual format utilizes lush botanical illustrations, historical images, photographs, and page decoration. A glossary, source notes, bibliography, and selected additional resources round out this compact and engaging volume for strong-stomached horticulturists and medical aficionados.