This is one of my favorite herbal books, the pictures are clear, both close-up and in situ, the descriptions cover useage, medicinal, culinary, dyeing and others. I've bought several as gifts. ( )

It is quite rare when I complete such a book inside of 24 hours. But I haven't been feeling well, and sleep has eluded me. And I truly found this enjoyable. So, yes, I did read it within 24-hours.

The book identifies wild and cultivated medicinal and herbal plants in an array from A-Z, which helps in some ways, and yet makes you feel thrown about in others. (I think I would have preferred an index with ailments that could be helped by plant at least. But c'est la vie.)

I did appreciate the notations at the bottom of each plants page that identified what the plant was considered useful for, and it's use today when applicable.

Because I'm interested in herbology, I found the herbs for cooking most interesting.

I did appreciate the effort for recipes at the back of the book, there just weren't really enough to make the effort worth reading through them. I was very interested in the gardening of the plants and herbs and found the layouts most informative.

Identification of each plant is by painting. AND photograph, which I truly appreciate. In most books we are informed only by paintings of the plants and one can never be sure with a painting what creative license has been taken! A photograph helps to compare the two and ensure that you have chosen or are looking at a correct specimen.

All in all I enjoyed the read. And I do highly recommend the book if you can locate a copy. ( )

I was a captive of the first sentence: "How could early man doubt that plants were magical?" The bold resurrection of plants, their vitality, is wonderful, and made only more wonderful by modern science.
Simple chapters:

(1) Plants in Myth and Magic -- from Incan sunflowers to the almost universal lore of garlic and the tales of goose barnacle trees. Short exploration of the folklore.

(2) ABC's of Plants - collecting, herbarium and press, anatomy, chemistry [with List of Botanists, including Roscoe Pound! 46], names {genus/species}.

(3) Plants, People and Medicine - discovery that 60,000 years ago, the Neanderthals were burying their dead with yarrow, groundsel, and marshmellow. By 1500 bc the Egyptians were using over 700 botanicals. [51] Chinese, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Greek writings.

(4) Gallery of Medicinal Plants -- 300 most popular medicinal plants in North America (explains no mention of ayahuasca); color pictures; edibles, exotics;

(5) Growing and Using Herbs - garden, cooking, crafts. Health remedies. Avoid carcinogens in coltsfoot, comfrey, sassafras. Colds - mucilaginous hyssop, marshmellow root, cherry, horehound; decongestant eucalyptus; Astringent - bloodwort/yarrow {Achillea millefolium}. Etc.

The authors clearly distinguish the difference between the folklore and the science, focusing on the "useful". For example, while tradition has Vervain as a virtual panacea, most of its uses are not substantiated. There is evidence, however, that "the plant is effective as a diuretic, gout remedy, and anorexic (appetite supressant). [323]

Good Index and Glossary. ( )