Plants Of The Gods is a comprehensive reference work on psychoactive plants. It provides a definition of plant hallucinogens and information on phytochemical research on sacred plants, geography of usage and botanical range, the chemical structures of these substances and the use of hallucinogens in medicine.
The plant species discussed include the Amanita (Fly Agaric) mushroom, Atropa (Deadly Nightshade), Yellow and Black Henbane, Mandrake, Cannabis Ergot, Datura, Iboga, Yopo beans, Ayahuasca, Yage, Brugmansia, Peyote, the San Pedro cactus, the Morning Glory plus what the authors term "the little flowers of the gods" which include the various types of Psilocybe mushroom.
The text is enhanced by a wonderful variety of color and black & white photographs, illustrations and quite impressive paintings. The section Overview Of Plant Use consists of tables listing every plant's common name, botanical name, historical ethnography, context and purpose of usage, preparation and the chemical composition and effects.
Plants Of The Gods is a great and detailed investigation of entheogenic plants from around the world. This valuable reference book concludes with a bibliography and index.
". . . an extraordinary blend of botany, ethnootany, chemistry, history, mythology, and art. A visual, spiritual, and intellectual feast, Plants of the Gods is the best book ever written on hallucinogenic plants . . ."
-- Dr. Mark Plotkin, Conservation International
"Carefully researched, beautifully written, and abundantly illustrated, this book reminds us that the use of hallucinogenic plants has been a fundamental part of human experience for millennia."
-- Michael R. Aldrich, Ph.D., Curator of the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Library
". . . shows the importance of the rituals and ceremonies of tribal peoples for the discovery and conservation of new medicines . . . a volume that anyone interested in medicinal plants, economic botany, or ethnobotany would want to possess."
-- Ghillean T. Prance, Director Royal Botanic Gardens
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