| This section of the Summerlands bookstore deals with Herbs in all their
attributes. We have attempted to provide you with some recommended Herbal books and
have additionally supplied a few comments on some of the books. We hope you find
something of interest in this section of the bookstore.
Armitage, Allan
1989 Herbaceous
Perennial Plants, Treatise on Identificiation, Culture & Garden Attributes;
Varsity Press 646 pp. This book provides a comprehesive listing of herbaceous
perennials with information on their characters and cultivars.
Beyerl, Paul
1984. The
Master Book of Herbalism; Phoenix Pub. Co., Custer, WA 415 pp. This book is an herbal, mostly consisting of folklore and herbal
correspondences, but it may be useful as an adjunct to more rigorous books.
Bown, Deni
1995 Encyclopedia
of Herbs & Their Uses; Dorling Kindersley, 424 pp This is a large format book with
color photos of over 1000 herbs. It provides info on herb garden layout, using
herbs, & wild herbs. The catalog section contains the photos and botanical
descriptions, while the dictionary section contains info on uses, growing and harvesting
information. This is an overview book but excellent due to the color photos.
Bremness, Lesley
1988 The
Complete Book of Herbs, Dorling Kindersely, 288 pp This book makes heavy use of
color photos, and covers herb gardening and herb usage in decoration, the kitchen,
household uses, personal care, essential oils, and health. It covers somewhat over
100 common herbs and contains many recipes. It also has sections on potpourri,
herbal papers and herbal dyes.
Brill, Steve
1994 Identifying
and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild and not so Wild Places; Harvest
Books 318 pp This is a wild crafting and cultivation guide. Chapters are
broken down by the time of the year so you know what plants are available during each of
the seasons. Plants are further divided by location, ie field, meadow, wetlands ect.
The book also contains many quite a number of good recipes.
Cass, Hyla
1998. St.
John's Wort: Nature's Blues Buster. Avery Publishing Group, Garden City Park, New
York. 192 pp. Written by an MD interested in herbal treatments, this book discusses
what St. John's wort can and cannot accomplish states of in treating depression.
There are also sections discussing other uses for this herb, as well as other treatments
for depression.
Culpeper, Nicholas with modern commentary by David
Potterton.
1983. Culpeper's
Color Herbal. Sterling Publishing Co, New York. Culpeper, writing in the early 17th
century, was one of the original comprehensive herbalists. He relied on folklore, as well
as astrology, in deciding on the properties of the herbs in his herbal. In using
astrology, he made use of the law of opposites (if something had a property antithetical
to the disease or syndrome at hand) and the law of sympathy (if there was a similarity
between the herb's ruling planet and the symptom in question). The color sketches of the
plants are very attractive as well as reasonably useful. Potterton's addendums to
each herb are welcome, if sketchy. Readable and worthwhile, considering the classic
status of this book. One is advised to take Culpeper as a period piece, rather than
as serious medical advise, however.
Damrosch, Barbara
1988. The
Garden Primer. Workman Publishing, New York. 673 pp. Only partially refers to
herbs, this is an all-round good gardening manual. Definitely recommended for the
herbalist who wants to grow things at home.
Dwyer, James (ed)
1986 Magic
& Medicine of Plants; Readers Digest 464 pp This is a mini directory of over 300
plants and covers the science, history, folklore and uses of medicinal plants. The
color photos and color drawings enhance this book.
Fischer-Rizzi, Susanne
1996 Medicine
of the Earth, legends, recipes, remedies & cultivations of healing plants; Rudra
Press 320 pp This book covers 33 herbs, but covers each herb in detail. The
mythological and historical lore, along with descriptions, uses, recipes, collection,
propagation and processing is coveredfor each plant. Medical, Culinary and Cosmetic
uses are also covered. The plant histories are very interesting.
Forsell, Mary
1995 The
Herbal Grove, a Celebration of the Bequty & Mystery of Trees; Villard 159 pp
The Herbal Grove discusses 43 herbal trees, their characters, history and uses and
presents a number of very good recipes.
Griffin, Judy
1997 Mother
Natures Herbal: Llewllyn 372 pp This book covers a lot of ancient, medieval,
oriental and western herbal lore. It is full of good recipes and practical uses for
herbs.
Heinerman, John
1995 Heinerman's
Encyclopedia of Healing Herbs & Spices; Prentice Hall 496 pp This book is
entirely focused on the healing power of herbs and spices and is very readible. It
is organized alphabetically by herb nd spice name and contains a symptoms index which
links directly to specific herbs and spices.
Hobbs, Christopher
1990: Echinacea:
The Immune Herb; Botanica Press; Santa Cruz, CA 83 pp. An overview
of the medical uses of the various species of this herb.
Hoffmann, David
1991. The New
Holistic Herbal; Element Books, Shaftesbury, Dorset. 284 pp. A well-organized
herbal with a useful section on the best times of year to gather them, as well as making
tinctures, infusions, etc. This book is best used in conjunction with a book
focusing in on contraindications and cautions.
Hutchens, Alma R
1992: A
Handbook of Native American Herbs: the pocket guide to 125 medicinal plants and their
uses; Shambhala, Boston, MA 256 pp.
Marcin, Marietta M
1993: The
Herbal Tea Garden: planning, planting, harvesting and brewing; Storey Communications,
VT 224 pp.
Mowrey, David PhD
1986 The
Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine Keats Pub 316 pp Despite the title this
is a very readable book. It is divided into chapters based upon areas of application
such as high blood pressure, heart, pain relief, ect. Each section discusses those
herbs that are applicable and provides extensive references to the scientific literature
to provide documentation to research.
Murphey, Edith van Allen
1990. Indian
Uses of Native Plants; Meyerbooks, Glenwood, IL. 81 pp. Mostly folklore, but
from the Native perspective. Many plants not included in conventional herbals are listed
here.
Ody, Penelope
1993. The
Complete Medicinal Herbal. DK Publishing, London. 192 pp. No book is truly complete
when it comes to herbals, but this book is well-organized, reasonably informative, and
profusely photographed.
Schultes, Richard E. and von Reis, Siri
1995: Ethnobotany:
evolution of a discipline; Dioscorides Press Portland, OR 414 pp.
Tobyn, Graeme
1997: Culpeper's
Medicine: A Practice of Western Holistic Medicine. Element Books, Rockport, MA.
278 pp. Discusses the philosophies and beliefs behind Culpeper's approach to
medicine, as a part of the time he lived.
Tyler, Varro E
1993: The Honest
Herbal: a sensible guide to the use of herbs and related remedies, 3rd edition;
Pharmaceutical Products Press, Binghamton, NY 375 pp. This herbal discusses the
properties of herbs, taking a look at the folkloric remedies, and mentioning whether
scientific evidence has been obtained, or not. He is also very rigorous about discussing
contraindications. Highly recommended. One aspect of herbalism that he does not discuss is
that some herbs may well act via a synergistic combination and interplay of compounds
within a given herb. Searching for *THE* active ingredient in an herbal preparation is
well and good, but may not yield a complete picture.
Tyler, Varro E
1994: Herbs
of Choice: the Therapeutic Use of Phyto-Medicinal; Pharmaceutical Products Press,
Binghamton, NY 209 pp. Readable by the layperson (in a way most of the other books
listed in this category are not), this book deals with various medical ailments and
symptoms, and discusses the use of herbs to treat them. He is in tune with published
medical research, and is forthright about contraindications and toxicity, and actual
usefulness of the herb in question. Where insufficient work has been done to draw firm
conclusions, he will state this as well.
Weed, Susun S
1992. Menopausal
Years: The Wise Woman Way. Ash Tree Publishing, Woodstock, NY 199 pp.
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Following are other, non-reviewed, Herbal books by some of the same authors
from above.
Beyerl, Paul
Compendium of
Herbal Magick
Bown, Deni
Garden Herbs
(Eyewitness Garden Handbooks)
Growing Herbs
Buhner, Stephen
Sacred
Plant Medicine : Explorations in the Practice of Indigenous Herbalism
Cass, Hyla
Kava:
Nature's Answer to Stress, Anxiety, and Insomnia
Culpeper, Nicholas
Culpeper's
Complete Herbal : Consisting of a Comprehensive Description of Nearly All Herbs
Culpeper's
Herbal Remedies
Culpeper's
Complete Herbal and English Physician
Damrosch, Barbara
Four-Season
Harvest : How to Harvest Fresh Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long
Gardener's
Latin : A Lexicon
Theme Gardens
Forsell, Mary
Heirloom
Herbs; Using Old-Fashioned Herbs in Gardens, Recipes, and Decorations
Berries :
Cultivation, Decoration, and Recipes
Hobbs, Christopher
American
Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook
Feverfew
: Your Headache May Be over
Handbook for
Herbal Healing : A Concise Guide to Herbal Products
Medicinal
Mushrooms : An Exploration of Tradition, Healing & Culture
Hoffmann, David
The
Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal : A Safe and Practical Guide to Making and Using
Herbal Remedies
An
Elder's Herbal : Natural Techniques for Promoting Health &Vitality
The Herbal
Handbook : A User's Guide to Medical Herbalism
The
Information Sourcebook of Herbal Medicine
Your Herbal
Home Medicine Chest (Self Care Health Library)
The Herb
User's Guide : The Basic Skills of Medical Herbalism
Hutchens, Alma
Indian
Herbalogy of North America
Marcin, Marietta M
The
complete book of herbal teas
Ody, Penelope
Home
Herbal
Pocket
Medicinal Herbs
Herbs for
First Aid (Keats Good Herb Guide Series)
Schultes, Richard E
Plants
of the Gods : Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers
Weed, Susun S
Healing Wise
(Wise Woman Herbal Series)
Weiss, Shandor
Growing &
Using the Healing Herbs
Wood, Matthew
The Book of
Herbal Wisdom : Using Plants As Medicine |