Harry Potter and Magical Plants
We all know the Harry Potter series is filled with magic. But did you realize how important magical plants like Devil’s snare and mandrake are to the ...
Botanical Mystery Tour
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About
Botanical Mystery Tour is a podcast about the real-life science behind the plants in pop culture. Botanical Mystery Tour is produced by the Chicago Botanic Garden.
The Silence of the Lambs and Death's-Head Hawkmoths
The poster for the movie The Silence of the Lambs is iconic — a sinister winged insect covers the mouth of a pale-faced woman. That insect is a death’...
Shakespeare in the Garden
Botanical references abound in Shakespeare’s works, like in this famous quote from ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ He was a writer who celebrated plants in verse ...
The Star Wars Sarlacc Pit and Carnivorous Plants
Move over Darth Vader and Kylo Ren: Sarlaccs are way more terrifying than your light sabers. The terrifying, plant-like creature that almost eats Land...
Alice in Wonderland and the Mysteries of Mushrooms
Mushrooms! Colorful, weird, possibly deadly, and an important part of the classic tale by Lewis Carroll. When consumed, the mushrooms Alice encounters...
The Simpsons, Dennis the Menace, and the Corpse Flower
Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, is one of the Garden’s superstar plants. These stinky, rare blooms attract thousands of vis...
Black Mirror and the Automated Drone Insects
Black Mirror is a British sci-fi TV series that explores some nightmarish consequences of new technologies. In the season 3 episode “Hated in the Nati...