How can beets be used to treat soil that has been polluted by nitroglycerin? How long do hawthorn bushes or Bristlecone pine trees live? How did Louis?XIV find out about pineapple? Why do the French give people lily-of-the-valley for MayDay? Where did the term Adam’s apple come from? How can you soothe a nettle sting? What can you replace salt and ginger with from the garden?

This book brings together more than 200 tales, amusing anecdotes and legends from the extraordinary world of plants. There are entries from all different sources: science, history, geography, literature, myths and legends. They share lots of secrets and clever tips. Serious or entertaining, scientific or practical, useful or frivolous… the information is always accurate, but never boring.

The lively layout and illustrations make it a real reading pleasure.

A book bursting with offbeat and entertaining information – an invitation to travel and to see the world of plants differently. Readers can open this surprising cabinet of curiosities to any page and find something entertaining or flip from one fascinating discovery to another.