Every botanist– or anyone who purports to know something about plants– should have a poisonous plant book handy. While rare, the calls from the local hospital poison control center must be answered; and the curiosity of students, colleagues, and neighbors should be addressed. It is important to take every opportunity to reassure people that the vast majority of plants are not dangerous, but are in fact useful– though you certainly don’t want to advocate self-medication with wild herbs or random nibbling of colorful berries in the ornamentals garden.