Would you know one if you saw it?

[SamClemensMT]

I'm thinking about seriously studying botany, and natural healing. I have been told that at lot of the weeds and shrubs we take for granted have medicinal qualities. I wouldn't know a natural cure if it were staring me in the face. Does anyone know of a good book on the subject?

 

[Rzashida]

You might have to invent that wheel. I would go to amazon, and see what they have to offer. Also check out the botany society to see if they have any suggestions. I love Botany too!

 

[zigs]

Can't go far wrong with this one, unless you live in America

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Ne...8&qid=1419784148&sr=1-3&keywords=a+new+herbal

 

[Mockingbird]

I bought a book from borders on herbal healing, Petersons Field Guide to plants and Herbs- you can probably find it on amazon if it is not out of print, I used to have a nice book that had plate drawings of the plants, i love it because you were certain then if what you saw was right (in the yard or elsewhere) gave nice plant lore and uses. Sadly I loaned that book and it never came back.

 

[Silver surfer]

Important thing to remember.....make sure you get a book for your part of the world.
Start with a Wild flower guide. It will have lots of useful info about id and whether plants are poisonous or not.

 

[claudine]

I would like to improve my plant identification skills too It's such a useful ability. I live in a lovely area with many parks and woods. It's a perfect place for picking herbs.

 

[zigs]

I started off with this in 1970

http://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Wil...sr=8-1&keywords=ladybird+book+of+wild+flowers

Met a lovely Scottish Lady while on holiday in Israel, she posted me the book when I got home, still got it

 

[Rub]

The cheapest and craziest idea of mine is to find a russian guidance through healing plants with all the description you need and translate it into English. All my family uses different kinds of plants to cure some diseases or to improve our health because we were taught by Russians. They are most experienced in such plants.

 

[Arielphf]

I use the Newcomb's wildflower guide for here in the US - and Peterson's tree and shrub guides for work (I'm a forester). For the uses of the plants, I've used 'The Herb Book' by John Lust, but I'm far more of an expert identifying than using, so I can vouch for the efficacy of the two ID books I've noted but there might be something better for uses than the one I listed.

You are right, a lot of the species that we consider non-native invasives, especially the ones that have been here long enough to naturalize, like dandilions and chickory, are quite useful as foods or healing. Europeans brought them over specifically because they were so useful so that they'd have some things at hand that they knew they could use. Later introduced species, like mile a minute weed, Japanese knotweed and Japanese stilt grass were accidental introductions and those tend to be way less useful.

 

[Pat]

I have used the "The Herb Book" to identify plants and herbs I can use inplace of traditional medicine.

 

[Missouri Primrose]

I've recently become interested in herbs and essential oils and have found lots of information online. Just search for 'herbal remedies' or similar and there's a world of information.

 

[Kansas Terri]

Instead of looking up a book on healing plants, why don't you do a search for a book on Naturopathy, which would be a book on natural cures? Then you can learn to grow the plants that are used in the natural cures.

Alas, I do not know the name of any good naturopathy books, but I get an excellent herbal salve from a naturopath, and I know she grows the plants in her back yard.