Review of A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guide Series) (Paperback)

Here is everything that a field guide should be and contain--small enough to stick into a pocket but comprehensive, definitive, dependable and well-illustrated. Pictures, descriptions, locations, uses, warnings. Fosteris not only an herbalist of the first rank but one of the finest plantphotographers out there clicking. His gorgeous Healing Plants calendar ison my wall; the verdant photos provide daily pleasure.Herbal preparationsas alternatives to synthetic drugs are increasingly chosen. St. John's Wortfor depression, Saw Palmetto for prostate treatment, Goldenseal for amultitude of symptoms. Not typically thought of as herbs, trees are also apart of our living pharmacy and 66 are included here. Ginkgolides extractedfrom leaves of the Ginkgo tree (ginkgo biloba) are the best-selling herbalpreparation in Europe. Aspirin derives from the willow. Amongst shrubs Ilearned that Hawthorn leaf and flower preparations are used in Germany totreat congestive heart failure, based on at least 14 controlled clinicalstudies. With increasing usage, many plants are in danger of beingoverharvested. Conservation is necessary to preserve a viable naturalcommunity of plants that can and may help alleviate human suffering.Stopping plant thieves is a law enforcement challenge but easyidentification of plants may save others of us from bulldozing a patch ofginseng for a house site. It is noted that Pale Purple Coneflower(Echinacea pallida) "is common in eastern Kansas but it is very rare inwestern North Carolina at the eastern extreme of its range. The plant mightbe judiciously harvested in Kansas, but in North Carolina it should be leftalone." More than just a field guide, Medicinal Plants and Herbs is anessential reference book for our personal library. The value of this biglittle book can hardly be overestimated.

Product Description
With more than 300 photos, this new edition shows how to identify more than 500 healing plants. Descriptive text includes information on where the plants are found, as well as their known medicinal uses. An index to medical topics, symbols next to plant descriptions, and organization of plants by colors all make this an essential guide to understanding the traditional medicinal uses of the plants around us. At a time when interest in herbs and natural medicine has never been higher, the second edition of this essential guide shows how to identify more than five hundred kinds of healing plants. More than three hundred new color photos illustrate their flowers, leaves, and fruits. The updated descriptive text includes information on where the plants are found as well as their known medicinal uses. An index to medical topics is helpful for quickly locating information on specific ailments, from asthma and headaches to colds and stomachaches. Symbols next to plant descriptions give readers a quick visual alert to plants that are poisonous or may cause allergic reactions. Organized by plant color for fast identification, this guide is an indispensable tool for understanding the traditional medicinal uses of the plants and herbs around us.

About the Author
James A. Duke (born 1929) is an American botanist. He is known for his numerous publications on botanical medicine, including the CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. He is notable for developing the Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases at the USDA.

James "Jim" A. Duke, Ph.D was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He received his doctorate in botany from the University of North Carolina in 1961.

Steven Foster has written numerous books and magazine articles on the medicinal use of herbs. He is the coauthor of the Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America.

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world"s greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides® are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.



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