Common poisonous plants and mushrooms of North America /

This well-organized reference intended for parents, hikers, wild food enthusiasts, and health care workers in poison control centers does an excellent job in covering a large amount of information in a succinct and highly useful way. An introductory chapter provides a setting for the descriptive "manual" embodied in the next four chapters. These cover poisonous mushrooms; poisonous plants of wild areas; poisonous house, garden, and crop plants; and plant products. Six appendixes provide information on common fruits, vegetables, and beverage plants containing potentially toxic products; some common plants causing skin irritation and/or mechanical injury; honey poisons; milk poisons; and some medicinal herbs of questionable safety. There is a glossary and an extensive list of references. The color illustrations, placed adjacent to the text rather than as separate plates, are excellent and provide sufficient detail for ease in identification. Each plant in the main body of the text is fully described by means of paragraphs labeled "Quick Check," "Description," "Occurrence," "Toxicity," "Treatment," and frequently, "Notes," which, in some cases, are extensive and very informative. Although neither a textbook nor an encyclopedia, this is a very valuable, easy-to-use manual that should be in the reference section of every library.-L. G. Kavaljian, California State University, Sacramento