A dramatic botanical study of monkshood, or Aconitum napellus, instantly recognisable by its extraordinary violet-blue flowers. Beautiful but highly poisonous, the plant has a long and sinister history in folklore, medicine, and poisoning, earning it another enduring name: wolfsbane. The illustration originates from an 1855 hand-coloured engraving by J. Johnstone, published in Glasgow by Blackie & Son as part of a wider study of poisonous plants.

The Deadly Botanicals

A sister collection to The Botanical Series, but with a darker twist. These are beautiful historic illustrations of plants that have poisoned, killed, healed and fascinated us for centuries.

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These prints are full of the colour and detail that makes nineteenth-century botanical art so attractive.

They work beautifully alongside The Botanical Series, particularly mixed with house plants, but there is something slightly subversive about them that I especially love.

I have also included the Death Cap mushroom in this collection as well as its home collection Fungi Folios. While strictly not a botanical it's been included for its more nefarious qualities.

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  • A richly detailed botanical study of deadly nightshade, or Atropa belladonna, one of history’s most notorious poisonous plants. Its dark berries and dusky purple flowers belie a toxic reputation that has linked belladonna with medicine, cosmetics, folklore, and poison for centuries. The illustration originates from an 1855 hand-coloured engraving by J. Johnstone, published in Glasgow by Blackie & Son as part of a wider study of poisonous plants.

    Deadly Nightshade

    Deadly Nightshade
    £95.00
  • The Death Cap is the only print in the entire BAXCO catalogue to appear in two collections. Its natural home is the Fungi Folios, but such an accomplished killer has also earned it honorary membership of the Deadly Botanicals. This BAXCO reproduction is from a c.1827 coloured lithograph by A. Cornillon after Prieur. Originally depicted as part of a larger study of twenty species of fungi, the Death Cap has been isolated and reworked as a standalone print, giving one of nature's most notorious mushroom

    Death Cap

    Death Cap
    £95.00
  • A finely observed botanical study of poisonous lettuce, or Lactuca virosa, a wild relative of the familiar garden lettuce with a rather darker reputation. Its milky sap, known as lactucarium, was historically used for its sedative and pain-relieving properties, earning the plant the evocative nickname “lettuce opium.” The illustration comes from an 1855 hand-coloured engraving by J. Johnstone, published in Glasgow by Blackie & Son as part of a study of four poisonous plants: hemlock, henbane, poisonous let

    Poisonous Lettuce

    Poisonous Lettuce
    £95.00
  • A beautifully delicate botanical study of autumnal meadow saffron, or Colchicum autumnale. Its elegant crocus-like flowers conceal a potent toxicity: the plant contains colchicine, a compound that can be deadly but has also played an important role in medicine for centuries. The illustration originates from an 1855 hand-coloured engraving by J. Johnstone, published in Glasgow by Blackie & Son as part of a study of four poisonous plants: hemlock, henbane, poisonous lettuce and autumnal meadow saffron. This

    Autumnal Meadow Saffron

    Autumnal Meadow Saffron
    £95.00
  • A finely detailed botanical study of common hemlock, or Conium maculatum, one of history’s most infamous poisonous plants. Used as a method of execution in the ancient world, hemlock is forever associated with the death of the Greek philosopher Socrates, who was sentenced to drink the poison in 399 BC. The illustration originates from an 1855 hand-coloured engraving by J. Johnstone, published in Glasgow by Blackie & Son as part of a study of four poisonous plants: hemlock, henbane, poisonous lettuce an

    Common Hemlock

    Common Hemlock
    £95.00
  • A striking botanical study of black henbane, or Hyoscyamus niger, a poisonous plant with a long and unsettling history. Used medicinally since antiquity but dangerous in uncontrolled doses, henbane became entwined with folklore, witchcraft, hallucinogenic preparations, and poison. The illustration originates from an 1855 hand-coloured engraving by J. Johnstone, published in Glasgow by Blackie & Son as part of a study of four poisonous plants: hemlock, henbane, poisonous lettuce and autumnal meadow saffron.

    Black Henbane

    Black Henbane
    £95.00
  • A dramatic botanical study of monkshood, or Aconitum napellus, instantly recognisable by its extraordinary violet-blue flowers. Beautiful but highly poisonous, the plant has a long and sinister history in folklore, medicine, and poisoning, earning it another enduring name: wolfsbane. The illustration originates from an 1855 hand-coloured engraving by J. Johnstone, published in Glasgow by Blackie & Son as part of a wider study of poisonous plants.

    Monkshood/Wolfsbane

    Monkshood/Wolfsbane
    £95.00