Plants Go to War

Victory gardens provided 44 percent of produce in 1944, and they could be found anywhere from backyards to rooftops to public squares. But plants had even more impact on the outcome of the war, as they were used for good and ill. Take the humble sugar beet: it provided sugar but was also the source of poison gas. Judith Sumner provides a wide-ranging tour of the plants that shaped the war's outcome. Guest: Judith Sumner, author of “Plants Go to War: A Botanical History of World War II”