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Weird Plants
In this little book of horrors, Chris Thorogood reveals the weird, the wonky, and the sinister specimens he has encountered during his travels in the wide world of plants. Far from passively absorbing the sun’s rays, these plants kill, steal and kidnap, making them dynamic participants in the ecosystems around them. From orchids that duplicitously look, feel and even smell like a female insect to bamboozle sex-crazed male bees to giant pitcher plants that have evolved toilets for tree shrews to carnivorous plants that drug, drown, and consume unsuspecting insect prey, Weird Plants takes us deep inside the worlds of plants whose imaginative and calculating survival methods are startlingly reminiscent of human schemes.
To guide us through these unfamiliar plantscapes, Thorogood has organized his book into seven categories fit for a horror film: Vampires, Killers, Fraudsters, Jailers, Accomplices, Survivors, and Hitchhikers. These categories take us through a variety of plant life and around the world, documenting the remote corners where many of these specimens are found. Through the combination of Thorogood’s oil paintings and botanical expertise, these fantastic plants come alive on the page.
To guide us through these unfamiliar plantscapes, Thorogood has organized his book into seven categories fit for a horror film: Vampires, Killers, Fraudsters, Jailers, Accomplices, Survivors, and Hitchhikers. These categories take us through a variety of plant life and around the world, documenting the remote corners where many of these specimens are found. Through the combination of Thorogood’s oil paintings and botanical expertise, these fantastic plants come alive on the page.
160 pages, Hardcover
Published November 15, 2018
2 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 10, 2022
Very cool and interesting. I liked the illustrations, but I would have liked there to be more than one for each plant.
September 15, 2020
A feast for the eyes of the armchair botanist and traveller. Chris Thorogood offers tantalising glimpses into the incredible lives of some of the worlds most fascinating plants. Stunning paintings.
February 2, 2020
Longwood Gardens chooses three books every year—a children’s book, a nonfiction, and a fiction, all to engage readers with botany, horticulture, and life around them. They have book clubs at the gardens to discuss them. This book was crazy! I often found myself interrupting Chris to show him yet another plant that I couldn’t believe lives here on Earth. Seth paged through the book with many wows interspersed. In a nutshell, nature is weird and amazing and this book truly was unbelievable! I have been trying to read non-fiction between fiction books, and this was a cool one to try!
November 25, 2020
Very interesting read - features plants that most of us would consider "weird" in that they either don't resemble typical plants, or function differently from them. Worth a read especially if you like plants and think you may already know a lot about them - a few tidbits I garnered from this book still managed to surprise me. The only thing I did not like at all was that almost all the plant pictures were illustrated. What a letdown. Nothing beats seeing an actual real-life photo of the thing, especially if it's truly as weird as it's claimed to be.
July 2, 2022
Les magnifiques illustrations m'ont plongée dans l'univers de toutes les belles espèces que l'auteur nous a présentées. Les descriptions sont interessantes et à mon avis compréhensibles à toute personne s'intéressant de près ou de loin à la botanique.
October 7, 2023
This book takes you on a botanical journey across the world to see just how weird plants can get. If I had to describe this gem in one word it would be "delightful."
What I liked
writing style
The writing style is clear and easy to read. This book can be finished in just a few short sessions. The illustrated map at the beginning that shows where each plant hails from was a nice touch.
illustrations
The paintings are beautiful and colorful. They would have been even better in an oversized book. A handful of entries had photographs instead of paintings, but they were also very good. There are several two-page paintings in this book. Among my favorite illustrations was the New Zealand Flax, which shows the plant with its pollinator, a gecko.
weird plants
46 different plants are profiled in this book. They are separated into 7 sections:
- Vampires. Parasitic plants.
- Killers. Carnivorous plants.
- Fraudsters. Plants that mimic something else.
- Jailers. By far the most bizarre in my opinion, plants that trap their pollinators.
- Accomplices. Plants that have animal helpers.
- Survivors. Plants that survive harsh conditions.
- Hitch-hikers. Plants with unique seed dispersal methods.
I was surprised to find so many plants that smell like dookie, some of which are even warm to the touch to better mimic that which flies find attractive. Repulsive but fascinating. The hydnora (shown on the book's cover) was one of my favorites. It just looks so alien!
Conclusion
I'd recommend this to anyone who is curious about nature, but it may have a certain appeal for kids. I think this book would work well in a school library setting.
What I liked
writing style
The writing style is clear and easy to read. This book can be finished in just a few short sessions. The illustrated map at the beginning that shows where each plant hails from was a nice touch.
illustrations
The paintings are beautiful and colorful. They would have been even better in an oversized book. A handful of entries had photographs instead of paintings, but they were also very good. There are several two-page paintings in this book. Among my favorite illustrations was the New Zealand Flax, which shows the plant with its pollinator, a gecko.
weird plants
46 different plants are profiled in this book. They are separated into 7 sections:
- Vampires. Parasitic plants.
- Killers. Carnivorous plants.
- Fraudsters. Plants that mimic something else.
- Jailers. By far the most bizarre in my opinion, plants that trap their pollinators.
- Accomplices. Plants that have animal helpers.
- Survivors. Plants that survive harsh conditions.
- Hitch-hikers. Plants with unique seed dispersal methods.
I was surprised to find so many plants that smell like dookie, some of which are even warm to the touch to better mimic that which flies find attractive. Repulsive but fascinating. The hydnora (shown on the book's cover) was one of my favorites. It just looks so alien!
Conclusion
I'd recommend this to anyone who is curious about nature, but it may have a certain appeal for kids. I think this book would work well in a school library setting.
December 29, 2018
A really good little book! The art was particularly stunning and I thought it was very informative. The only thing I think could have been improved on was more information for each of the plants, maybe more on the less “weird” aspects too. Overall though I really enjoyed the book! If you have a bit of an interest in plants it’s fantastic, however I think plant fanatics might want something a little more substantial
August 25, 2022
Beautifully illustrated compendium of unusual plants from around the world, with capsule descriptions of each plant. Thorough enough for adult plant enthusiasts, but captivating enough to spark the interest of younger readers as well.
Inspired me to responsibly cultivate the only species of pitcher plant native to the Northeast US, Sarracenia purpurea.
Inspired me to responsibly cultivate the only species of pitcher plant native to the Northeast US, Sarracenia purpurea.
September 14, 2022
The book was neat but overall I wish there was more information about the plants and more photos to complement the paintings.
Also it would’ve been nice if the captions for the illustrations better described what we were seeing rather than repeating information from the plant blurb.
Also it would’ve been nice if the captions for the illustrations better described what we were seeing rather than repeating information from the plant blurb.
October 15, 2020
Well I now know a lot more about plants than I knew before. But not only that, about evolution and genomes and how much I dont know.
June 19, 2021
This was a super interesting "coffee table" kind of book, with interesting snippets of informations about a wide variety of plants. The oil paintings included are magnificent.
August 30, 2022
Beautiful book, I’d just like a bit more botanical detail about each plant, maybe a small box or a brief appendix.
February 23, 2026
Fascinant, surprenant et presque effrayant ! Avec passion et talent, l’auteur dépeint la splendeur et le génie du règne végétal…
June 8, 2024
Stunning paintings of plants that truly live up to the descriptor: "weird."
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews