Donald Rice

Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is one of the most toxic plants in North America. Every part is poisonous, there is no antidote, and people are sometimes killed after mistaking it …

Prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola) is a tall, bitter wild plant whose milky sap was used in European folk medicine for centuries as a mild sedative, a cough remedy, and a …

The red eyebright plant has been used since the Middle Ages and onwards to heal conjunctivitis, blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids), superficial keratitis (inflammation of the cornea), and eye tearing. …

The great 11th-century Arabic physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna) said the bee balm plant “has the admirable property of giving comfort and joyfulness.” From the early 17th century onwards, the Barefooted …

The wolfsbane plant is one of the most poisonous flowers grown in gardens anywhere in the world. Every part of it — the leaves, the hooded flowers, and above all …

If you’ve come across the henbane plant — maybe in a history book, maybe growing in a ditch near your house — the short version is this: it’s one of …

The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder already knew about the many health benefits of hops because he christened the plant Lupulus. After all, it overgrows the gardens where it grows …

The devil’s trumpet plant was unknown in Europe during ancient times and the Middle Ages until it was brought to Spain from Mexico in the late 16th century. Because of …

Flakes prepared from the oat plant by pressing oats into ground grain are an integral food popular in Central and Northern Europe. Moreover, oats have stimulating effects on the nervous …

The dragon’s blood plant is often used as a common name for Herb Robert, a strongly scented wild geranium known botanically as Geranium robertianum. It has a long history in …