Often beautiful, sometimes deadly and always inventive, plants are sources of life and pleasure, as well as myths. For me, the already exciting science of plants comes alive when intertwined with human history and culture. Most of the stories in this book tell about people no less than about botany: "reed of silence," opium poppy and "peacock flower" delonix with a piquant and disturbing past, peculiar traditions of using kava, Spanish moss and rhododendron, incredible searches for the exciting properties of mandrake, chocolate and even wormwood. Do not forget about pumpkins for Halloween. Less catchy plants also bring joy to humans. I will begin the journey through England, Scotland Ireland, respectively, with nettles, kelp and sphagnum, and then go from my London home to the east, approximately - very approximately! - following the route of Phileas Fogg from the novel by Jules Verne.