From Alder to Yerba Santa, with more than a hundred plant species in between, this book is a charming and factual source of botanical history. Each herb is completely described by where it grows, what it looks like, and its history of use.

Josephine Peters, a revered northern California Indian elder and Native healer, shares her vast, lifelong cultural knowledge on personal and tribal history, gathering ethics and preparations, then offers a catalogue of the uses and doses of over 160 plants.

Medicinal Herbs of California is the first statewide field guide to more than 70 common medicinal plants of California. This vital addition to the California naturalist’s shelf will introduce readers to the principles of herbal remedies, history and roots in native cultures, scientific information, and how to find and incorporate medicinal plants into daily life. Inside you’ll find: Photos and descriptions to help with positive identification Common and scientific names and the plant families Conservation status Modern and traditional uses The science behind natural phytochemicals that have earned these plants a place in Native American medicine for thousands of years.

A foundational textbook on the scientific principles of therapeutic herbalism and their application in medicine • A complete handbook for the medical practitioner • Includes the most up-to-date information on preparations, dosage, and contraindications • By the author of The Complete Illustrated Holistic Herbal Medical Herbalism contains comprehensive information concerning the identification and use of medicinal plants by chemical structure and physiological effect, the art and science of making herbal medicine, the limitations and potential of viewing herbs chemically, and the challenge to current research paradigms posed by complex plant medicines. It also includes information on toxicology and contraindications, the issues involved in determining dosage and formulation types for an individual, guides to the different measurement systems and conversion tables, and the pros and cons of both industrial and traditional techniques. With additional sections devoted to the principles of green medicine, the history of Western Herbalism, the variety of other medical modalities using medicinal plants, an extensive resource directory, and a discussion of treatments organized by body system, Medical Herbalism is the comprehensive textbook all students and practitioners of clinical herbalism need to develop their healing practices.

An Updated and Expanded New Edition of Backyard Medicine! Modern medicine is truly a blessing. Advances are made with astonishing speed every day, using both science and technology to make our lives longer and healthier. But if the era of modern medicine began less than two hundred years ago, how did people treat sickness and poor health before then? This book holds the answer. Researched and written by a practicing medical herbalist and natural healer, and now with even more herbs and medicinal plants, Backyard Medicine is the basis for a veritable natural pharmacy that anyone can create. Featuring more than 120 easily made herbal home remedies and fully illustrated with nearly three hundred color photographs, this book offers fascinating insights into the literary, historic, and global applications of fifty common wild plants and herbs that can be used in medicines, including: Comfrey Dandelion Honeysuckle Yarrow And so much more! Anyone who wants to improve his or her health in a completely natural way will find this book to be an absolute must-have for his or her home—and garden.

Information from many sources has been compiled here to present the most important uses of plants by early inhabitants of California, as well as methods of preparing the plants for use. The Indian method of leaching acorn meal so it could be eaten, the medicinal value of Yerba Mansa, the use of other plants for making baskets, rope, and clothing, are some of the subjects treated.

THE HERBAL MEDICINE-MAKER'¬?S HANDBOOK is an entertaining compilation of natural home remedies written by one of the great herbalists, James Green, author of the best-selling THE MALE HERBAL. Writing in a delightfully personal and down-home style, Green emphasizes the point that herbal medicine-making is fundamental to every culture on the planet and is accessible to everyone. So, first head into the garden and learn to harvest your own herbs, and then head into your kitchen and whip up a batch of raspberry cough syrup, or perhaps a soothing elixir to erase the daily stresses of modern life.

A practical guide to understanding and using Mexican healing traditions in everyday life Arranging ofrendas. Brewing pericón into a healing tea. Releasing traumas through baños and limpias. Herbalist and curandera Atava Garcia Swiecicki spent decades gathering this traditional knowledge of curanderismo, Mexican folk healing, which had been marginalized as Chicanx and Latinx Americans assimilated to US culture. She teaches how to follow the path of the curandera, as she herself learned from apprenticing with Mexican curanderas, studying herbal texts, and listening to her ancestors. In this book readers will learn the Indigenous, African, and European roots of curanderismo. Atava also shares her personal journey as a healer and those of thirteen other inspirational curanderas serving their communities. She offers readers the tools to begin their own healing--for themselves, for their relationship with the earth, and for the people. The Curanderx Toolkit includes more than 25 profiles of native and adopted plants of Baja and Alta California and teaches you to grow, know, and love them. This book will help anyone who has lost connection with their ancestors begin to incorporate the herbal wisdom and holistic wellness of curanderismo into their lives. Take the power of ancient medicine into your own hands by learning simple herbal remedies and practicing rituals for kinship with the more-than-human world.

Where there's a symptom, there's also a homegrown cure. With just a windowsill, container, or small space, it's easy to grow an instant herbal remedy. Whether it's a cough, heartburn, joint pain, or neuralgia, readers will discover how easy it is to treat 40 ailments and conditions using herbs and herbal preparations they grow and make themselves. With inspiration found in science, tradition, and modern herbalistic practices, Grow It, Heal It touts the healing power of more than 50 herbs—from anise hyssop to yerba mansa. Two of the nation's premiere herbalists share growing, harvesting, and healing advice in this easy-to-use and friendly guidebook for herbal newbies, featuring teas, tinctures, salves, poultices, compresses, and aromatherapy. Among the many benefits of growing do-it-yourself remedies, readers will discover the convenience of preparing healing potions and salves when they're most needed; the advantage of having organic, fresh, and high-quality herbs they've nurtured themselves; and how empowering it is to engage in self-care and why that's important to the healing process. Growing herbs at home allows readers to take an active role in their own health care.

The Most Thorough Compilation of Home Cures and Remedies Yet! Years ago, every household practiced natural healing by using what they had. Plants grow abundantly all over our roadsides, cities, and in your own backyard, and though once valued and widely used, they've fallen out of fashion over time as people forget the numerous medicinal uses at our fingertips. This book brings alternative medicine back to the forefront. Researched and written by a practicing medical herbalist and natural healer, and now with even more herbs and medicinal plants, The Big Book of Backyard Medicine is the basis for a veritable natural pharmacy that anyone can create. Featuring one hundred specific plants and their associated remedies, and fully illustrated with hundreds of color photographs, this book offers fascinating insights into the literary, historic, botanical, and global applications of common wild plants and herbs that can be used in medicines, including: Ash Chicory Dandelion Forget-me-not Gypsywort Horseradish Mint Red Poppy Thistle Wild carrot Willow And so much more! Anyone who wants to improve his or her health in a completely natural way will find this book to be an absolute must-have for his or her home—and garden.