So much for plant based diets being the gentler, kinder way to live on this mostly-water-covered rock. Evidently our little green darlings are more aware than we ever gave them credit for, so now we have to ask ourselves: do they feel pain? Should we knock them out before meal preparation? Oh the ethical conflict! Might want to get our hands on some of those Mysterious Unknown Plants and Magical Powers and Properties. Brent Swancer provides us with a virtual compendium of mystical and pharmaceutical botany, as well as the history behind significant botanical discoveries. Brent, we are grabbing a couple of Master Gardeners and we are heading for Japan so you can give us a tour of your garden. No flash photography, we promise. (CM)

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