Botanical Dermatology: Plants and Plant Products Injurious to the Skin

Drs John Mitchell and Arthur Rook have aptly brought together the disciplines of dermatology, botany, biochemistry, and physiology, and have given us the first comprehensive basic reference text on plants that induce irritant and allergic reactions. The book clearly outlines the means by which plants are capable of injuring the human skin. The authors emphatically define and show the need and technique for accurate plant identification in investigating botanical medical problems. Plant families and genera reported in the literature to have caused trouble are listed alphabetically. Concise commentaries or abstracts of case reports of irritation from innumerable species are described, and references follow each discussion. The volume is indeed monumental and should be most helpful in satisfying the large void in botanical dermatologic training.