OF3-12/14/09 8:25 AM
THOSE PRETTY AND POISONOUS PLANTS.
The Osgood File. I'm Charles Osgood.
Unless you are from Boston, the word "wicked" is generally pejorative.
Author Amy Stewart is not from Boston -- she's in Eureka, California. But she is the author of the book "Wicked Plants" -- and she has a beautiful garden right there at her home in Eureka, part of which she keeps gated off.
SOT - Amy Stewart, author of "Wicked Plants"
"This is the poison garden, it's just on the other side of this gate."
And she admits to a certain fascination with plants that kill.
SOT - Amy Stewart
"Any time I find out that there was a plant that was used to commit a crime or started a war, I sort of love that --- you know, I love a plant with a dark history."
Ever since the Garden of Eden, there have been growing, blooming plants that you better not eat. More after this...
My "Sunday Morning" colleague Martha Teichner loves living things. But recently, she had a chance to explore the world of plants that kill animals, including us --- and she caught up with Amy Stewart.
SOT - Amy Stewart
"I think you would be making a mistake to assume that the plant kingdom is just benign and good. I mean, the plant world makes strychnine, it makes cyanide, it makes ricin. I mean, some of the most toxic poisons on the planet come from plants ... I found this old doctor's kit. And when I started pulling out some of the vials, I realized that these are some of my wicked plants."
She now takes the kit with her to book signings.
SOT - Amy Stewart
"And you will not be surprised to see that I also carry around with me the world's worst plant --- tobacco."
And recently, a garden of killers at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
SOT - A Guide at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, with Martha Teichner
"(Guide:) We thought wicked plants, a garden to die for, would be a good hook, if you will.
(Teichner:) Do people come here, take a look at all the poisonous plants and it scares the living daylights out of them?
(Guide:) I don't think so --- I think they're intrigued." (:13)
The Osgood File. I'm Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network.
The Osgood File. December 14th, 2009. |
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