Plants Go to War

Judith Sumner is a botanist and author with particular interest in the historical uses of plants. She is a frequent lecturer for audiences of all kinds and has taught for many years at colleges and botanical gardens. She lives in Worcester, Massachusetts.

“In this impressively researched exploration, esteemed ethnobotanist Sumner takes a scholarly yet totally accessible approach to the myriad ways plant materials were critical to both Allied and Axis war efforts. With balanced attention to domestic sacrifices and ingenuity, Sumner’s astonishing discoveries make this a fascinating read for botany buffs and those steeped in military history.”—Booklist

• Table of ContentsPreface1. Victory GardensCrops and Cultivation 7; Garden Strategies 11; Soils and Fertilizers 13; Pests and Diseases 15; Seed Catalogues, Seed Saving and Cultivars 17; Spreading the Word 19; Urban Victories 21; Children’s Gardens 24; The Harvest2. Dig for VictoryGarden Plans 32; Allotment Gardening 35; Carrying On 36; Cultivars and Propagation 39; Ground Work 42; Extending the Season 44; Sheltering in the Garden 45; Women’s Institutes, Children and Wartime Gardening 47; Schrebergarten3. Vitamins and Food PreservationVitamin Knowledge 51; The Vitamin War 52; Keeping and Canning Food 56; The Hedgerow Harvest 62; Dehydration and Freezing4. Botanical Diet and CookerySugar 66; Coffee 69; Margarine 70; Rationing, Meals and Botanical Foods 71; Cooking for Victory 73; Legumes Replace Meat 77; Bread Strategies 80; Making Do 80; Feeding England 84; Something from Nothing 95; The German Home Front 99; Across Europe 105; The Japanese Home Front5. Feeding the MilitaryMilitary Meals 110; Strategic Planning 112; Daily Bread 113; Field Cookery 115; Field Rations 117; Military Chocolate 119; Operational Rations 120; Caffeine 122; Supplying the Axis6. Agriculture at WarMobilizing Farms 129; Military Farms 131; Hybridization and Hybrid Vigor 133; Sugar Beets, Soybeans and Oil Crops 136; Plant Nutrients and Soil Fertility 140; Pests and Pesticides 142; Biological Warfare and the Wartime Food Supply 143; Harvesting Labor 145; Farming in England 147; The Land Army, Schools and Harvests 152; German Agriculture, Hereditary Farms and Plant Breeding 156; Farming in Japan7. Medicinal BotanyEssential Drugs 166; Home Front Medicine 168; Battlefront Medicine 169; Malaria and Quinine 173; Scrub Typhus 178; Botanical Antibiotics 180; Penicillin 182; Agar 185; County Herb Committees 186; German Herbalism8. FibersCotton 197; Bast Fibers 201; Milkweed 206; Silk 208; Manage, Make Do, Mend and Survive 209; Fungi and Fibers 211; Fiber Currency9. Forestry, Timber and WoodForests and Timber 216; Wood Production 217; Military Forestry 219; Timber in England 220; Combat 223; Hedgerows 229; Construction, Boats, Airplanes and Plywood 233; Paper, Books and Balloons 240; Cork 247; Coal and Charcoal 248; Forestry, Forests and the Third Reich 251; The Homefront 253; History in Timber10. Oils, Resins and RubberBotanical Oils and Resins 257; Latex, Rubber and Rationing 260; Rubber Plants 263; German Strategies 266; Military Rubber 267; Gas Masks 269; Barrage Balloons 271; Synthetic Rubber11. SurvivalPreparation 275; Deception and Camouflage 278; Survival Manuals 287; Deprivation, Starvation and Epigenetics 293; Subsistence Gardens 300; Regeneration12. Botanical Gardens, Herbaria and Plant Science in WartimePractical Knowledge 308; Collections 310; Occupation 313; Field Botany 314; Germany and Native Plants 317; Homefront Horticulture 322; RebirthChapter NotesBibliographyIndex