Plants and flowers

Plants and flowers occur frequently as a plot device in the works of Agatha Christie. Typically plants or flowers are a common source of toxins. At other times, an unusual plant would be used to poison a person. Gardening is a hobby of many of Christie's characters, including Miss Marple and Chief Inspector Japp.

Works where plants and flowers plays a significant role

 * Sad Cypress - an important clue lies in the fact that a specific variety of rose has no thorns.
 * Yellow Iris
 * How Does Your Garden Grow? - an important clue is that the edging on a flower bed is incomplete.
 * The Yellow Jasmine Mystery - A murder victim left a cryptic clue of "yellow jasmine". At first investigators were distracted by the yellow jasmine flowers in the garden but later Poirot learnt that it was the name of a powerful but uncommon alkaloid.
 * Nemesis - in the garden of the Old Manor House, the remains of the old greenhouse is covered with polygonum baldschuanicum. Miss Marple says that this plant grows fast, and is useful if one wants to hide something. It is later revealed that there is something buried underneath the remains of the greenhouse.
 * Sleeping Murder - there is a whole chapter (ch. 18) named after "Bindweed". Miss Marple is very concerned about the presence of bindweed which has roots which go very deep. Later in ch. 23 she also mentions bindweed to talk to Inspector Primer as symbolic of events which reach back far into the past.
 * The Blue Geranium - A murder victim is warned beforehand that a "blue geranium" means death.
 * The House of Lurking Death - The house Thurnly Grange has a greenhouse. In it grows a castor oil plant.
 * A Pocket Full of Rye - Taxine is a poison that can be found in the yew tree. Rex Fortescue, who lived at Yewtree Lodge, died of taxine poisoning. Can there be a connection?
 * The Herb of Death - Foxglove leaves are mixed with sage in the stuffing of a duck.
 * Greenshaw's Folly - Miss Marple visits the garden at Greenshaw's Folly, and sees that whoever was weeding on the day of the murder had pulled up plants as well as weeds. She specifically mentions alyssum, saxifrage, cytisus and thimble campanula.
 * The Four Suspects

Adaptations

 * The Girl in the Train (The Agatha Christie Hour episode) - erica vagans (pale mauve), which George Rowland at first thought was white heather
 * Un meurtre en sommeil (Les Petits Meurtres d'Agatha Christie) - Larosière makes the same point as Miss Marple in this adaptation of Sleeping Murder.

Plants and flowers as names of buildings
Especially in English villages, it is very common to name houses after plants and flowers. Often this is a sufficient address, taking the place of street and house numbers. There are numerous examples in the Christie stories. Some houses named after plants or flowers occur in more than one novel.
 * Daisymead
 * Laburnum Cottage
 * Laburnums
 * The Larches
 * The Laurels
 * Rose Cottage