Customer Reviews

Cornucopia: A Source Book of Edible Plants

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Interested in historic varieties of apples? Interested in the uses of little known fruits from the Kalahari desert, the Malay rainforest, the Siberian taiga? Want to know mail order sources for the above, or any other edible plant you've ever heard of, and literally thousands new to you? This astonishing work of scholarship does not include recipes, but adventurous cooks will be able to deduce them from the compressed notes of actual uses by peoples ranging from Inuit to French, modern and ancient. Fun to browse randomly and priceless for detailed research. The newest edition has just been published, and it's even better.

There currently is no better reference for edible fruits & vegetables. There are 1000's of entries, each with cultural (growing) information, significant cultivars, and known sources for the plants. Truly a heroic accomplishment.

Be sure to get the 2nd edition.

Cornucopia is an excellent reference guide on a vast range of fruits and vegetables available to consumers, agriculturists, plant nurseries, growers and the produce industry. It ought to be ranked at the top with such books as "Fruits of Warm Climates" by Julia Morton (1987) and "Tropica" Graf. (1993) by Roehrs Publishing Co. It should be a must in the libraries of all who seek to know what nature has to offer.

Very comprehensive reference book and good quick tool to look up plants. Tends to be lacking in some of the newer cultivars and newer nurseries. New edition may be called for. If the information were put into an ebook than would not need the very bulky book.

Mr. Facciola has provided all plant explorers with an invaluable resource and research tool.

I recommend this book to all of my Permaculture Design Students.

Scott Pittman
Permaculture Institute
[...]

Lists all kinds of hard to find plants and varieties, etc. Wonderful illustrations on the front cover, but that is about it for pictures. A lot of reading, which is no problem, because it keeps you very entertained. My husband, who knows a lot about gardening edible plants, LOVES this book and was so excited when he got it that you would have thought I wrapped a Sunbeam Tiger and placed it under the tree!

If you or you have a loved one who's a garden guru, or would like to be. They/you will love this book! Took a long time to receive. Long wait.

Waited a long time for this book to arrive and when it came I was stunned to find that there was not ONE diagram or picture in this book and the book is huge. The book review never mentions pictures so I guess this is my fault. If you like books with just lists this is the book for you. Very diappointed. I wanted to use the book to identify greens. This book shows alot of research but it is worthless to me.

Are you confused by the plant catalogs? Looking for something strange, or just hard to find?. Wondering what to plant, or just what to do with it? This will probably tell you. Where the plant came from, where the information came from, and how it is used. Lists more cultivars then I ever heard of. (86)winter harvest apples (37)black walnut Also Common name, Latin name, and Suppliers.
It was published in 1998, so the information is not current.
This is likely to be more of a problem with catalogs, than plants.

This book would be better implemented in WIKI form online. As a sourcebook on where to find various cultivars, it quickly becomes dated. Also a WIKI would allow addition of much more information on how to use, photos, etc. Info on each plant is light in this book form.