Our February meeting was held live in Longwick Village Hall which gave a wonderful opportunity to meet old friends and to welcome newcomers. In spite of it being a horrible, windy and wet afternoon, 50 members braved the weather to hear a talk, ‘Plants in Crime’, given by Angela Wall, and heard how plants have for centuries been used as poisons, for pleasure and, more recently, to solve crimes. Plant substances have been used as poisons since ancient times and plants such as monkshood and foxgloves are some of the most poisonous plants we have in our gardens. Cyanide, strychnine, atropine and ricin are all plant substances that have been used as poisons. Plant substances have also been used as recreational drugs since prehistoric times. Drugs such as cannabis, opium, morphine, heroin and cocaine are all obtained from plants and are linked to addiction and illegal criminal activity involving huge amounts of money. The relatively new science of Forensic Botany has solved many recent crimes through evidence of plant material such as pollen and spores at the crime scene. The meeting ended with lots of tea, biscuits and chat.
