1-Sentence-Summary: The Botany Of Desire describes how, contrary to popular belief, we might not be using plants as much as plants use us, by getting humans to ensure their survival, thanks to appealing to our desires for beauty, sweetness, intoxication and control.
The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World (2001) examines the intricate evolutionary relationship between plant cultivation and human desire. Author Michael Pollan explores this relationship by recounting the history of four plants that have been cultivated to meet four distinct human longings.
There has been much speculation as to the botanical identity of soma or haoma. Soma is a plant described in Hindu sacred texts including the Rigveda, while haoma is a plant described in the Avesta, a collection of Zoroastrian writings.
Both names are derived from the Proto-Indo-Iranian *Sauma.
Proposed candidates include various species of plants and or fungi.
Traditional etymology of Indian Soma is Somalata used traditionally by the Srauta Brahmins called Somayajis whereas the Avestan Haoma is an Ephedra, which are totally unconnected species sourced from different areas.
European researchers suggest other plants, such as the perennial Peganum harmala, Nelumbo nucifera, Cannabis sativa, and the sugarcane species Tripidium bengalense ; while fungal candidates include the fly-agaric mushroom Amanita muscaria, the psilocybin-containing mushroom Psilocybe cubensis, and the ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea.
Other scholarly proposals include mixtures of these candidates with each other and with other substances.