Plant Magic
The Supernatural Side of Botany
by Gregory J. Kenicer
£12.99
- Paperback
- E-Book
Nature writing & gardening
Reviews
Beautifully produced, there are some very nice monochrome illustrations at the beginning and at points through the book... a fascinating area for study and the author manages to take an objective yet sympathetic approach that retains credibility while still giving an excellent overview of the background to an unorthodox area of botanical study
Undiscovered Scotland
About the Book
Plants have played an enormous role in human culture since time immemorial. This fascinating book explores some of the many ways in which trees, herbs, ferns, mosses and other organisms such as fungi have been used in supernatural and magical traditions across Europe.
Individual entries are packed with historical examples and anecdote to explain exactly why and how each of the plants listed came to be used in particular ways. Covering such diverse themes as alchemy, luck, curses divination, magical medicine, transformations and witchcraft, this foray into the supernatural side of botany underlines that for thousands of years our use of plants has been astonishingly diverse and has played a vital role in the way we make sense of both the natural and supernatural worlds around us.
The Author
Gregory J. Kenicer
Dr Greg Kenicer is a botanist at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden. His PhD looked at DNA, diversity and evolution of pulses. After its completion he returned to Edinburgh and joined RBGE’s thriving education department, where he has worked ever since.
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