---
title: Alumna Digs Up the Lowdown on Plants in New Kids’ Book
date: 2025-07-30T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/alumna-digs-up-the-lowdown-on-plants-in-new-kids-book"
section: Articles
---
# Alumna Digs Up the Lowdown on Plants in New Kids’ Book

*July 30, 2025* — by [Daryllee Hale](/author/daryllee-hale)


> 5 Fun Facts About the Weird, Wonderful World of Foliage, From a Dynamite Tree to the Dead Horse Arum

*Fantastic Flora Cover Penguin Random House 1920x1080 — An alum's new book puts plants front and center, unearthing what's fascinating about them for the 8- to 12-year-old audience.*

Exploding cucumber seeds. Poisonous berries. Plants that look (and smell) like roadkill. These are just a few of the botanical oddities author Ann McCallum Staats M.A. ’96 unearthed while writing her latest book, “Fantastic Flora: The World’s Biggest, Baddest and Smelliest Plants.”


*Ann McCallum Staats headshot*




**Topics:** [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Alumni](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni), [Books](https://today.umd.edu/topic/books)


**Units:** [College of Education](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-education)