A City Herbal: A Guide to the Lore, Legend, and Usefullness of 34 Plants That Grow Wild in the Cities, Suburbs and Country Places [Paperback]

Maida Silverman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1997

The wild plants of the city are potent herbal medicines and nutritious wild edibles, as well as sources of comfort, fiber, and dyes. Lores, legends, and uses are described lyrically.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

" Here is a treasure for city dwellers who have been missing abundant pleasures free for the finding. Silverman is articulate and affectionate as she tells of the great variety of beautiful and valuable plants--bittersweet to yarrow--which grow wild in urban areas. This is a book to lift the heart, even if approached from a purely practical standpoint," commended PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Maida Silverman was born and has spent her life in New York City. The fantasy of a garden of her own, overrun with fruit trees, nut trees, flowers, berries, vegetables, and herbs has not yet come to pass. Because of this she turned her attention to wild plants that grow in the city and found them rewarding and engrossing. She graduated from Pratt Institute in 1962. In addition to being an illustrator, she is a craftswoman whose major field is stitchery. She often spins her own yarns and dyes them, using vegetable dyes derived from some of the plants described in A City Herbal. Her illustrations include those from The Poetry of Chaim Nachman Bialik (published by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations), which was voted one of the Fifty Best Books of the Year by the American Institute of Graphic Arts in 1973. Her stitchery projects and writings on the use of herbs and wild plants have appeared in Family Circle and Seventeen magazines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: Ash Tree Publishing; 3 edition (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888123001
• ISBN-13: 978-1888123005
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,310,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A City Herbal, April 7, 2002

By 

Margaret C. Goddard (Kingston, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A City Herbal: A Guide to the Lore, Legend, and Usefullness of 34 Plants That Grow Wild in the Cities, Suburbs and Country Places (Paperback)

I never could have imagined the herbal abundance that grows between the cracks of the city sidewalks and in vacant lots! This book details the folknames, locations, historical uses, lore, legends, and uses of 34 plants commonly found in the city. I read this book like a novel, from cover to cover, and would recommend it to anyone interested our green friends!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wow, what you can find in the city when you really look!, March 13, 2010

By 

Deborah Verlen "Deborah" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A City Herbal: A Guide to the Lore, Legend, and Usefullness of 34 Plants That Grow Wild in the Cities, Suburbs and Country Places (Paperback)

Reading books about common weeds and their purposes has always fascinated me from the time I picked up Stalking The Wild Asparagus. Each city weed description contains the folk names, the probabe locations (roadsides, vacant lots, grassy strips etc), the botanical description, historical lore and suggested uses.

Each weed is described well. However, if you are not familar with the weeds involved, the hand drawn pictures of the weed may not be enough to identify the weed described.

One of the reasons I got this out of the library was when I opened it, it opened at Ground Ivy--my garden's perpetual enemy. I found it can be used as a "soothing beverage for colds, coughs, and irritated throats." The book explains how to make a tea from this Vitamin C rich weed. Unfortunately I have enough Ground Ivy to steep in a tea for the entire town! However, I can also do a facial wash for chapped or sunburned skin and I have so much ivy that I should be able to give myself facial washes three times a day and not run out!

Another example of a well known weed, Queen Ann's Lace suggests they be used for an indoor plant (dig up the entire plant and replant indoors), brown seed heads can make a tea or a seasoning, and the plant dried can be used for flower arrangements.

This is a fun read even if you don't take advantage of the weeds that surround you in the city!