How to grow datura and brugmansia. Includes history, classification, hybrids, collecting, care and cultivation. Illustrated throughout in color.

The book is a horticultural, botanical and ethnobotanical monograph of Brugmansia (Solanaceae), the most potent of South American entheogens (psychoactive plants used for religious/spiritual purposes in shamanic cultures). Brugmansia is the only widespread continental plant genus of several species known solely in cultivation, and with now nearly 2000 cultivars, this book provides a world cultivar register with reference to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. This is the first full taxonomic revision of the genus Brugmansia ever published, and combines original field research and horticultural expertise with a review of well over 600 bibliographic references, covering a range of fields from anthropology and ethnobotany, through to biology, pathology, biotechnology and horticulture.

The most comprehensive guide to the botany, history, distribution, and cultivation of all known psychoactive plants • Examines 414 psychoactive plants and related substances • Explores how using psychoactive plants in a culturally sanctioned context can produce important insights into the nature of reality • Contains 797 color photographs and 645 black-and-white illustrations In the traditions of every culture, plants have been highly valued for their nourishing, healing, and transformative properties. The most powerful plants--those known to transport the human mind into other dimensions of consciousness--have traditionally been regarded as sacred. In The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants Christian Rätsch details the botany, history, distribution, cultivation, and preparation and dosage of more than 400 psychoactive plants. He discusses their ritual and medicinal usage, cultural artifacts made from these plants, and works of art that either represent or have been inspired by them. The author begins with 168 of the most well-known psychoactives--such as cannabis, datura, and papaver--then presents 133 lesser known substances as well as additional plants known as “legal highs,” plants known only from mythological contexts and literature, and plant products that include substances such as ayahuasca, incense, and soma. The text is lavishly illustrated with 797 color photographs--many of which are from the author’s extensive fieldwork around the world--showing the people, ceremonies, and art related to the ritual use of the world’s sacred psychoactives.

"Water witch Annwyn Avalon presents a comprehensive guide to Celtic water lore including spells, rituals, water spirits, and merfolk. She explores the magic of the sea, but also features lakes, rivers, canals, swamps, and other watery locations as well as the craft and magic that have been and continue to be practiced at these places. Within these pages, you will learn how to set up your own personal water altars and shrines, gather or craft the magical tools of water witchery, and access the power of rain and ice. Most crucially, you will learn how to connect and communicate with the water spirits themselves."--Back cover.

What are hallucinogenic plants? How do they affect mind and body? Who uses them - and why? This unique Golden Guide surveys the role of psychoactive plants in primitive and civilized societies from early times to the present. The first nontechnical guide to both the cultural significance and physiological effects of hallucinogens, HALLUCINOGENIC PLANTS will fascinate general readers and students of anthropology and history as well as botanists and other specialists. All of the wild and cultivated species considered are illustrated in brilliant full color. A Brilliant accompaniment to R G Wasson's Soma Divine Mushroom of Immortality and R G Wasson's Wondrous Mushroom.

This standalone portal fantasy transports unsuccessful rockstar Theo Vilmos from modern California to a land of magic and mystery Returning to the fantasy genre that made him a coast-to-coast best-selling phenomenon, Tad Williams writes this stand-alone contemporary fantasy novel, set in Northern California—and also in the strange parallel world that coexists in the farthest reaches of the imagination.Theo Vilmos is a thirty-year-old lead singer in a not terribly successful rock band. Once, he had enormous, almost magical charisma, both onstage and off—but now, life has taken its toll on Theo. Hitting an all-time low, he seeks refuge in a isolated cabin in the woods. While there, he reads an odd memoir written by a dead relative who believed he had visited the magical world of Faerie. And before Theo can disregard the account as the writings of a madman, he, too, is drawn to a place beyond his wildest dreams...a place that will be, and has always been, his destiny.

The First Ever Account of Dieting the Revered Shamanic Plant Brugmansia aka Toé / Datura A personal account of the use of the Brugmansia plant commonly known as "Toé," is revealed. The plant is native of the Peruvian Amazon and the Andes, where it's highly revered among shamans. Despite its popularity, the ingestion of this plant is surrounded by many justified taboos due to its toxicity and many dangers. Javier Regueiro worked and studied intensively with this unique Plant Teacher in 2005 for five months, deep in the Amazon, and again in 2019. These experiences have been essential in his shamanic apprenticeship, as well as a profound personal healing and spiritual process. In The Toé / Datura Diaries these experiences are shared in great detail through journal entries from both shamanic dietas - or diet regimen in Spanish, - as well as extensive commentary on those experiences. Following his first Toé dieta in 2005, Javier Regueiro began working as a plant medicine person and created the Ayaruna Center in Pisac, Peru. Over the last 10+ years he has been offering healing retreats with Ayahuasca and San Pedro / Huachuma plant medicines, both of which he has published books on. While this book is not intended as a DIY manual for ingesting either the Toé or any other potentially risky plants, it does provide a very detailed overview and intimate glimpse into both the traditional practice of dieting medicinal plants. The commentary and insights provided are designed to avoid common pitfalls and maximize the time and effort invested in the profound healing process plant medicines provide. This captivating tale presents an honest and vulnerable journey into the wisdom and medicines of the Amazon jungle. The many challenges faced by the author along the way ultimately led to a profound healing and expansion from engaging with this powerful Plant Teacher.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it. Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. He’s just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and that’s why he’s won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. You’re invited on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror and transcendence to wonders beyond imagining. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.

Forensic botany is the application of plant science to the resolution of legal questions. A plant's anatomy and its ecological requirements are in some cases species specific and require taxonomic verification; correct interpretation of botanical evidence can give vital information about a crime scene or a suspect or victim. The use of botanical evidence in legal investigations in North America is relatively recent. The first botanical testimony to be heard in a North American court concerned the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby boy and the conviction of Bruno Hauptmann in 1935. Today, forensic botany encompasses numerous subdisciplines of plant science, such as plant anatomy, taxonomy, ecology, palynology, and diatomology, and interfaces with other disciplines, e.g., molecular biology, limnology and oceanography.Forensic Plant Science presents chapters on plant science evidence, plant anatomy, plant taxonomic evidence, plant ecology, case studies for all of the above, as well as the educational pathways for the future of forensic plant science. - Provides techniques, collection methods, and analysis of digested plant materials - Shows how to identify plants of use for crime scene and associated evidence in criminal cases - The book's companion website: http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780128014752, will host a microscopic atlas of common food plants