Oi,

Since my departure is nearing, I'd very much appreciate if you lovely people throw in your two cents on the best books that guide and educate about the rainforest flora.

The obvious reason behind that request is that I've lived in Eastern Europe my whole life, and there's not much that can kill you here. In the Amazon though that's not exactly the case...

I'd love to have a book handy that I can refer to when I encounter a plant I want to know more about, and also to have info on the most beneficial plants that will help me stay healthy in this amazing ecosystem.

Other than that if there is a similar source of info regarding the fauna that would be very handy. Like stuff to really beware of, for example types of spiders, snakes, hornets and whatever you can think of that can be a potential danger to one's health and life.

Any and all recommendations are heartily appreciated!

Be well.

Botany is the Amazon is really confusing for Europeans, because everything is just so alien and there is such a huge diversity.
If you are taking field guides, be prepared that they either are pretty big and heavy and require good knowledge of plant taxonomy to be useful, or to cover only a very limited selection of plant species.
I can't really give you a good recommendation here, other than search for plant guides, read the reviews and decide for yourself.

Your best bet to learn a lot will be to find a good guide, make photos and field notes and learn by experience.

Concerning dangerous things: it's good to treat everything you do not know as potentially dangerous. Wear long pants and sleeves. If you don't do something reckless like eating unknown plants, the biggest threat would probably be stepping on snakes, so make sure your legs have some protection. For shoes, I mostly used rubber boots, you can get them on the markets there. Hiking boots will at some point be soaked and constantly wet feet are an invitation for open blisters that get infected, rubber boots can be dried fast. Good leather boots would probably work too.

Safe travels!