Synopses & Reviews
"There is not one page of this enchanting book which does not contain something to interest the common reader as well as the serious student. Regarded simply as a history of flowers, it adds to the joys of the country."—B. E. Todd, Spectator.
If you want to know how pleurisy root, lungwort, and abscess root got their names, how poison ivy used to treat rheumatism, or how garlic guarded against the Bubonic Plague, consult A Modern Herbal. This 20th-century version of the medieval Herbal is as rich in scientific fact and folklore as its predecessors and is equally encyclopedic in coverage. From aconite to zedoary, not an herb, grass, fungus, shrub or tree is overlooked; and strange and wonderful discoveries about even the most common of plants await the reader.
Traditionally, an herbal combined the folk beliefs and tales about plants, the medicinal properties (and parts used) of the herbs, and their botanical classification. But Mrs. Grieve has extended and enlarged the tradition; her coverage of asafetida, bearberry, broom, chamomile, chickweed, dandelion, dock, elecampane, almond, eyebright, fenugreek, moss, fern, figwort, gentian, Hart's tongue, indigo, acacia, jaborandi, kava kava, lavender, pimpernel, rhubarb, squill, sage, thyme, sarsaparilla, unicorn root, valerian, woundwort, yew, etc.—more than 800 varieties in all—includes in addition methods of cultivation; the chemical constituents, dosages, and preparations of extracts and tinctures, unknown to earlier herbalists; possible economic and cosmetic properties, and detailed illustrations, from root to bud, of 161 plants.
Of the many exceptional plants covered in Herbal, perhaps the most fascinating are the poisonous varieties—hemlock, poison oak, aconite, etc.—whose poisons, in certain cases, serve medical purposes and whose antidotes (if known) are given in detail. And of the many unique features, perhaps the most interesting are the hundreds of recipes and instructions for making ointments, lotions, sauces, wines, and fruit brandies like bilberry and carrot jam, elderberry and mint vinegar, sagina sauce, and cucumber lotion for sunburn; and the hundreds of prescriptions for tonics and liniments for bronchitis, arthritis, dropsy, jaundice, nervous tension, skin disease, and other ailments. 96 plates, 161 illustrations.
Synopsis
Here is the first comprehensive record of plants and their uses to have been written for hundreds of years -- in fact the only complete modern herbal. A truly encyclopedic work, the two-volume set describes well over 800 different species of herbs, grasses, mushrooms, shrubs and trees. Included is historical background for each plant, cultivation tips, up-to-date information on useful substances derived from each plant, and the different ailments the herb is used to treat. Also included are folk beliefs as well as economic and cosmetic properties of hundreds of plants -- from aconite to zedoary. Also, common and Latin names, drawings, photographs, a good index and much more.
Synopsis
Gigantic alphabetical encyclopedia gives botanical information, medical properties, folklore, and much other useful information for more than 800 varieties of herbs, grasses, fungi, shrubs, and trees.
Synopsis
Volume 2 of the fullest, most useful compilation of herbal material. Gigantic alphabetical encyclopedia, from aconite to zedoary, gives botanical information, medical properties, folklore, economic uses, more. 161 illustrations.
Table of Contents
"IRIS, FLORENTINE (Iris Florentina)"
"IVY, POISON (Rhus Toxicodendron)"
JUNIPER (Juniperus Communis)
"KINO, AFRICAN (Pterocarpus Marsupium)"
"LAUREL, CHERRY (Prunus Laurocerasus)"
LAUREL (Laurus Nobilis)
"LAVENDER, SPIKE (Lavandula Spica)"
LEMON (Citrus Limonum)
"LETTUCE, WILD (Lactuca Virosa)"
LIQUORICE (Glycyrrhiza Glabra)
"LOSSESTRIFE, PURPLE (Lythrum Salicaria)"
"MALLOW, MARSH (Althœa Officinalis)"
"MARJORAM, WILD (Origanum Vulgare)"
MASTIC (Pistacia Lentiscus)
"MERCURY, DOGS (Mercurialis Perennis)"
MEZEREON (Daphne Mezereum)
"MINTS (Mentha Viridis, Mentha Pulegium, Mentha Piperita)"
"MOSS, ICELAND (Cetraria Islandica)"
"MUSTARDS, BLACK AND WHITE (Brassica Nigra and Brassica Alba)"
"NIGHTSHADE, DEADLY (BELLADONNA) (Atropa Belladonna)"
"NIGHTSHADE, WOODY (BITTERSWEET) (Solamum Dulcamara)"
NUTMEG (Myristica Fragans)
NUX VOMICA (Strychnos Nux-Vomica)
OAK GALLS (Quercus Infectoria)
OLIVE (Olea Europœa)
"ORANGE, SWEET (Citrus Aurantium)"
OPOPONAX (Opoponax Chironium)
"PARSLEY, FOOLS' (Æthusa Cynapium)"
"PARIS, HERB (Paris Quadrifolia)"
"PEPPER, BLACK (Piper Nigrum)"
"PARADISE, GRAINS OF (HUNGARIAN PEPPER) (Amomum Melegueta)"
PERUVIAN BARK (Cinchona Succirubra)
PELLITORY (Anacyclus Pyrethrum)
"PIMPERNEL, SCARLET (Anagallis Arvensis)"
"PINE, LARCH (Pinus Larix)"
"PINE, WILD (Pinus Sylvestris)"
PINK ROOT (Spigelia Marilandica)
POMEGRANATE (Punica Granatum)
"POPPY, WHITE (Papaver Somniferum)"
QUASSIA (Pecerœna Excelsa)
"RHATANY, PERUVIAN (Krameria Triandra)"
"RHODODENDRON, YELLOW (Rhododendron Chrysanthum)"
"RHUBARB, EAST INDIAN (Rheum Palmatum)"
"RHUBARB, FRENCH (Rheum Palmatum)"
ROSEMARY (Rosmarinus Officinalis)
RUE (Ruta Graveolens)
SAFFRON (Crocus Sativus)
"SAFFRON, MEADOW (Colchicum Autumnale)"
"SARSAPARILLA, JAMAICA (Smilax Ornata)"
SASSAFRAS (Sassafras Officinale)
"SEDGE, SWEET (Acorus Calamus)"
SENNA (Cassia Acutifolia)
SENEGA (Polygala Senega)
SIMARUBA (Simaruba Amara)
SNAKEROOT (Aristolochia Serpentaria)
SPURGE (EUPHORBIUM) (Euphorbia Resinifera)
SQUILL (Urginea Scilla)
STAVESACRE (Delphinium Staphisagria)
STORAX (Liquidambar Orientalis)
TAMARIND (Tamarindus Indica)
TANSY (Tanacetum Vulgare)
"THISTLE, HOLY (Carbenia Benedicta)"
THORNAPPLE (Datura Stramonium)
TOBACCO (Nicotiana Tabacum)
TORMENTIL (Potentilla Tormentilla)
WOOD SORREL (Oxialis Acetosella)
TRAGACANTH (Astragalus Gummifer)
BEARBERRY (UVA-URSI) (Arbutus Uva-Ursi)
"VALERIAN, COMMON (Valerinan Officinalis)"
WILLOW (Salix Russeliana)
WINTERGREEN (Chimophila Unbellata)
WINTER'S BARK (Drimys Winteri)
"WORMSEED, LEVANT, AND LEVANT WORMWOOD (Artemisia Cina and Artemisia Absinthium)"
ZEDOARY (Curcuma Zedoaria)