Abstract
This is a wonderfully illustrated guide that describes many of the home and garden plants that are likely to poison companion animals. It includes several useful tables that list the plants by toxin, by clinical signs of poisoning, and by those plants that have poisonous seeds. The body of the text is composed of sections for nearly 200 poisonous garden and house plants. Each section includes 1 to 3 beautiful color photographs of the plant, a list of common names, a description of the plant that a non-botanist can understand, a brief overview of the toxin, and brief descriptions of the clinical signs, risk, and treatment for poisoning. Each section ends with a comprehensive reference list. The book avoids the page gymnastics required to find citations in a distant bibliography, and it facilitates finding more information concerning that plant and its toxins. It is unique as no other veterinary guide of toxic plants is devoted to ornamental house and garden plants. Though not exhaustive, the plants included are those most likely to poison family pets. There are other books on plants that poison livestock, including this author's Guide to Plant Poisoning in North America that was published in 2001 by Teton Newmedia. Though the two guides cover distinct plant groups, both have similar formats and scope making them complementary and easy to use. Equal to its predecessor, this guide is well written and can be easily understood by pet owners, veterinary technicians, and veterinarians. For these users it is an excellent reference, but it is lacking as a pathology or diagnostic reference. It only briefly introduces the toxin and most sections contain nothing concerning the mechanism of toxicity, toxicokinetics, diagnostics, or pathogenesis. However, three reasons this should be an essential reference for diagnosticians are: 1) the plant photographs are exceptional; 2) it is the only veterinary text available covering garden and house plants; and 3) the reference lists facilitate finding additional information.