Herb books

I am sure there probably already a thread on here some where about what books are to start with, and what to preceed to. Does anyone have a collection that they reccomend for some one who knows very little, but is wanting to learn as much as collecting, and what to do when you collect it? It has been an interest of mine but, just never got started. Thanks.

My personal favorites are:

"The Green Pharmacy" by James Duke

"The Medicinal Garden" by Anna McIntyre

"The  Complete Woman's Herbal" by Anna McIntyre

"Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest" by Delena Tull

Thanks, I will check into them.

Not sure where you're located but it's helpful to get some local-specific books on the topic too.  One book that I've enjoyed is The Herbalist's Way: The Art and Practice of Healing with Plant Medicines by Nancy and Michael Philips.

Anything by Susun Weed.

School of Natural Healing by Dr. John R. Christopher

The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra

The Herbal Medicine Cabinet: Preparing Natural Remedies at Home by Debra St. Claire

Really my favorite sources now tend to be online blogs.  Their narrative style brings the herbs to life in a way books have never done for me, while allowing them to drill deeper into any particular aspect than seems possible than the books, which seem to favor breadth of knowledge.  The one exception to this seems to be the general art of making preparations, in which books seem to have the upper hand.

For web sources start with

http://bearmedicineherbals.com/
www.herbcraft.org

I have many books, and I can say that the top two that I turn to are:

The Natural Physician's Healing Therapies by Mark Stengler

The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants by Andrew Chevallier

I have found many books at local book sales.  I do like to look at them before buying and it's good to have several pictorial reference books, especially if you want to find these plants in the wild.  So far, I have used burdock, plaintain, mullein, elderberry, and yarrow from my yard and surrounding areas, all learned from books!!

Also, it's good to have MANY different books, so you can cross reference the information.  I really don't do anything before I research it, and it's best to see the same/similar info in different places, from different people.  Only after I use something, or make an infusion, then I write it down in my own book and keep my own personal findings.

Tami

.........I love books...........

Anything by Rosemary Gladstar.

H Ludi Tyler wrote:
My personal favorites are:

"The Green Pharmacy" by James Duke

"The Medicinal Garden" by Anna McIntyre

"The  Complete Woman's Herbal" by Anna McIntyre

"Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest" by Delena Tull

Thank you for this reference

I totally love all these books!  But I just have to mention my current favorites that are not yet on this list.

First, since I am in Western Montana, I have Gregory Tilford's books.  He is an international expert on herbs for animals and is located right here in the Bitterroot (and with ties to some herb folks in San Diego too).  "Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West" continues to be one of my favorites, mixing up the herbs found in the woods as well as the weedy varieties on the valley floor.  If you live in an area where a local herbalist has written a book, I say get it.  If you are in the Western USA, consider the deep value of Michael Moore's 3 books at least (Pacific West, Mountain West, and Desert West - you may need all three due to overlap).

And last but NOT least:  Both volumes of "The Earthwise Herbal" by Matthew Wood!!   The green volume is for old world plants, and the rust colored one is for new world plants.  If you have to get one for now, get the green one, and pick up the rust one later.  I love how he not only explains the medicinal qualities of the plants but also describes the constitution of the person in need of healing - I cannot say enough good things about these and reference them over and over again!

ytram wrote:
I am sure there probably already a thread on here some where about what books are to start with, and what to preceed to. Does anyone have a collection that they reccomend for some one who knows very little, but is wanting to learn as much as collecting, and what to do when you collect it? It has been an interest of mine but, just never got started. Thanks.

Some books here also:
https://permies.com/permaculture-forums/8709_0/medicinal-herbs/growing-western-medicinal-herbs


All books by Michael Moore are informative as well. Mostly about herbs of the pacific west area, including dessert, mountain, and coast.
http://www.swsbm.com/MMCatPage/MMBooks.html

These two author's are pretty darn rugged, Juliette Levy is practically the mother of western herbal medicine and she comes with a movie too!
My dog's would still be on the kibble machine, my ducks would still have worms, and the double metacarpal fracture in my hand would still be broken.

Juliette de Bairacli Levy "
Common Herbs for Natural Health (Herbals of Our Foremothers)
The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat
The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable

Isabell Shipard
How Can I Use Herbs in My Daily Life?: Over 500 Herbs, Spices and Edible Plants: an Australian Practical Guide to Growing Culinary and Medicinal Herbs
The Sprouting Book: How to Grow and Use Sprouts to Maximize Your Health and Vitality

by Stephen Buhner: Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria.

Anything by Michael Moore such as Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West. Also check out his website at swsbm.com. He's the godfather of the American herbal rennaisance, and all the others bowed before him.

I would suggest the following:

For making herbal medicine products from the herbs: Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth and The Herbal Medicine Makers Handbook
For learning about the individual herbs: Holistic Herbal (very basic) and Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth, if you have a medical background I suggest Weiss's Herbal Medicine - I also have a free materia medica from the first edition of my book that you can access here: http://www.herbaltransitions.com/BotanCom.html
For identification of the herbs I suggest: Plant Identification Terminology and The EcoHerbalists Fieldbook - A good local plant guide for your area will also be helpful and you might consider a botany class.

I know not everyone is into text books or science, but all knowledge is worth having and understanding the biochemical interactions is deep, but very insightful if substitutions are required.

I have been reading Medical Herbalism the science and practice of herbal medicine by David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG.

*** warning - this is heavy reading**** It is a text required for an alternative medicine certification I had researched and thought instead of going to school ($$$$$$$$) I will start learning with books ($$$).

I am appreciative to those who have recommended other reference material - which is likely much easier to get through and I am making a list of these to add to my little human physiology library.

Since you want more advanced books, I would not suggest David's book Holistic Medicine that I mentioned before. It is for a beginner. I would still however suggest Weiss's Herbal Medicine which is practice oriented and Herbal Medicine From the Heart of the Earth which has 645 scientific research articles referenced to back up the materia medica. Both are on Amazon.com where you can look through some of the pages. Additionally I would suggest Kings American Dispensatory volume 1 and 2. This last set of books is expensive. I found my set about 30 years ago at a used book store 1/2 off. They are some of the best herb books I have. They are definitely written for practitioners so I don't usually suggest them unless someone is serious about herbal medicine.

I knew I should not have looked in this thread...my wishlist just grew by *mumble, mumble...* I bet my husband will be thrilled.

These are the two I use:
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (book version) www.naturaldatabase.com
The Complete German Commission E Monographs http://www.amazon.com/Complete-German-Commission-Monographs-Therapeutic/dp/096555550X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330151038&sr=8-1