Undiscovered Scotland

 

"Plant Magic: The Supernatural Side of Botany" by Gregory J. Kenicer carries the imprint of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and it's easy to see why. The book has been beautifully produced, and there are some very nice monochrome illustrations at the beginning and at points through the book. The author's introduction sets the scene with a discussion of plants in the folklore and literature of magic. It's 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. If you're looking to see plants in a different light, this is certainly the book for you!

Plants are grouped into four categories. Trees, shrubs and climbers come first, many of which are symbols of deities. We then move on to herbs, which were a staple in magic from witchcraft to alchemy, Third come the cryptograms, non flowering plants such as ferns and mosses as well as algae and fungi. The fourth category is "mystery plants", covering plants mentioned too fleetingly in historical accounts to allow identification to take place. Each plant gets its own section, ranging in size from part of a page to two. There's additional information in the appendices, including one setting out the different properties of woods used in magic wands.

The publisher's description helps bring this intriguing book to life: "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."