The North American guide to common poisonous plants and mushrooms /

This work substantially enlarges and updates the excellent, award-winning Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms of North America by Turner and A. F. Szczawinski (CH, Dec'91, 29-2100). The book's dust jacket claims that "more than 300 toxic" taxa are treated. The volume's organization into five chapters and six appendixes is unchanged from the former work. Updates include nomenclature of poisonous species, especially mushrooms; recommended treatments; and references, including Internet sites. A 44-page introduction overviews poisonous taxa, treatments, and poisons and their effects. The four remaining chapters include "Poisonous Mushrooms" (50 pages), "Poisonous Plants of Wild Areas" (80 pages; "plants" sloppily include cyanobacteria, fungi, and lichens), "Poisonous Garden and Crop Plants," including weeds (68 pages), and "Poisonous Houseplants and Subtropical Garden Plants" (37 pages). The synoptic descriptions of taxa include Latin and common names and family information. They also include sections titled "Quick [ID] Check," "Description," "Occurrence," "Toxicity," and "Notes." The information is detailed and accurate. However, identifying the correct toxic species is a time-consuming process, which is obviously not to be undertaken during an emergency. The 32-page section of appendixes--"Fruits, Vegetables, and Beverage Plants," "Wild Edible Plants," "Skin and Eye Irritants," "Honey Poisons," "Milk Poisons," "Medicinal Herbs"--offer brief notes on additional plants. Summing Up: Recommended. All collections. R. Schmid emeritus, University of California, Berkeley