Review by Choice Review
Sustainably harvesting medicinal plants and preparing them in time-honored ways to preserve their therapeutic potential calls for knowledge and skills that are increasingly rare. This second edition offers a wealth of such information. Expanding on the popular first edition, Kane, an herbalist, succinctly addresses how to identify and collect some 100 plants known for their medicinal properties. He provides information on the types of herbal preparations that can be made from each plant and, in a section titled "Preparations," the processes for making them. Entries are alphabetically arranged by plant name. They include a botanical description, geographical distribution, chemistry, medicinal uses, indications (health conditions with which the plant is most often associated), tips for collecting, preparations/dosage, cautions, and other uses. The 200-plus photographic plates and prints provide a delightful visual tour of the Southwest's medicinal flora. Guides to medicinal plants that focus on specific geographical areas are especially valuable because of their ecological detail. One of the best guides available for medicinal plants in the American Southwest, this volume will be useful for a broad range of readers and of particular appeal to herbal medicine enthusiasts. Kane also recently published Herbal Medicine (CH, Jun'10, 47-5391), a broader compendium of the most popular plants in Western herbal medicine. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. J. Saxton Bastyr University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
