The most complete work on the medicinal plants of western North America, this guide offers the best information in the world on the nearly 500 species covered, much of it available for the first time. More than 530 color photographs illustrate the plants. An index to medical topics helps locate information on specific ailments. Symbols next to the plant descriptions provide quick visual warnings for poisonous and allergenic plants. Organized by flower color for fast identification, this guide is an essential aid to appreciating native plants and the wild areas they inhabit.
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Book Description
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About the Author
Steven Foster has written numerous books and magazine articles on the medicinal use of herbs. He is the coauthor of the Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Miscellaneous Showy Flowers BUNCHBERRY Leaves, roots, berries Cornus canadensis L. Dogwood Family
Low-growing, spreading perennial, 3–8 in., often forming large colonies. Oval leaves in whorls of 6 beneath showy “flowers” (bracts); veins arch from leaf base toward tip; margins entire. Small, greenish white flowers tightly clustered above 4 large, white, petallike bracts; May–July. Fruit scarlet, single-seeded. Where found: Moist, cool forests, meadows, bogs. Alaska to Idaho, Mont. south to N.M., nw. Calif. eastern N. America. Uses: American Indians toasted the leaves, then sprinkled the powder on sores. Berries were a snack source, dried and stored for winter; also chewed to treat insanity. Leaf tea drunk as a strong laxative and to treat paralysis. The Paiutes mashed and strained the roots and used the liquid as a wash for sore eyes. Tea of the whole plant was taken for coughs, fevers, and tuberculosis. Tea from roots, leaves, and berries was drunk for fits. A root tea was given to babies for colic. Bark tea drunk for body pains.
ICE-PLANT, SEA FIG Leaves Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. Carpet Weed Family
Multibranched, bumpy-stemmed perennial, spreading along ground; to 24 in. high. Leaves succulent, alternate, flat, ovate to spoon-shaped; margins wavy. Flowers stalkless in leaf axils, showy, white to red- tinged, with many stamens and 5 linear petals; Mar.–Oct. Bumpy fruit opening when moist. Where found: Saline soils near coast, bluffs, disturbed sites, coastal sage scrub. Along the cen. and s. coast of Calif. to Ariz.; Baja Calif., Mexico; S. America, Mediterranean. Alien (South Africa). Uses: Historically, physicians used leaf juice to soothe inflammation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory or urinary system; to treat painful or difficult urination and involuntary urination. In Europe the fresh juice has been used to treat water retention and painful urination and to soothe lung inflammation. Related species: M. edule L. (Carpobrotus edulis [L.] N. E. Br.), or Hottentot Fig, a common escape in California, is used externally in S. Africa for burns and thrush and internally for dysentery. Warning: High in oxalates, potentially toxic in high doses, especially in flower and fruit.
CANADA VIOLET Whole plant Viola canadensis L. Violet Family Perennial with short, thick rhizome and slender stolons; to 10 in. Leaves heart-shaped or oval on long stalks; tips pointed; margins toothed. Flowers solitary from leaf axils. Petals white above, purple beneath, yellow-centered; bottom petal dark-lined, spurred; side petals hairy at base; Apr.–July. Pod splitting into 3 valves. Where found: Moist to dry woods. Ore. to ne. Wash., Idaho, Utah, Ariz. Rockies from Mont. to N.M.; eastern N. America. Uses: Native Americans used a root tea for pains in the bladder region. Externally, a poultice was used to treat skin abrasions and boils. In European traditions violet species were listed as soothing and softening for coughs and colds, urinary tract ailments, and skin conditions. Warning: Roots of most if not all violet species may induce vomiting.
Text copyright © 2002 by Steven Foster and Christopher Hobbs. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.
Low-growing, spreading perennial, 3–8 in., often forming large colonies. Oval leaves in whorls of 6 beneath showy “flowers” (bracts); veins arch from leaf base toward tip; margins entire. Small, greenish white flowers tightly clustered above 4 large, white, petallike bracts; May–July. Fruit scarlet, single-seeded. Where found: Moist, cool forests, meadows, bogs. Alaska to Idaho, Mont. south to N.M., nw. Calif. eastern N. America. Uses: American Indians toasted the leaves, then sprinkled the powder on sores. Berries were a snack source, dried and stored for winter; also chewed to treat insanity. Leaf tea drunk as a strong laxative and to treat paralysis. The Paiutes mashed and strained the roots and used the liquid as a wash for sore eyes. Tea of the whole plant was taken for coughs, fevers, and tuberculosis. Tea from roots, leaves, and berries was drunk for fits. A root tea was given to babies for colic. Bark tea drunk for body pains.
ICE-PLANT, SEA FIG Leaves Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. Carpet Weed Family
Multibranched, bumpy-stemmed perennial, spreading along ground; to 24 in. high. Leaves succulent, alternate, flat, ovate to spoon-shaped; margins wavy. Flowers stalkless in leaf axils, showy, white to red- tinged, with many stamens and 5 linear petals; Mar.–Oct. Bumpy fruit opening when moist. Where found: Saline soils near coast, bluffs, disturbed sites, coastal sage scrub. Along the cen. and s. coast of Calif. to Ariz.; Baja Calif., Mexico; S. America, Mediterranean. Alien (South Africa). Uses: Historically, physicians used leaf juice to soothe inflammation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory or urinary system; to treat painful or difficult urination and involuntary urination. In Europe the fresh juice has been used to treat water retention and painful urination and to soothe lung inflammation. Related species: M. edule L. (Carpobrotus edulis [L.] N. E. Br.), or Hottentot Fig, a common escape in California, is used externally in S. Africa for burns and thrush and internally for dysentery. Warning: High in oxalates, potentially toxic in high doses, especially in flower and fruit.
CANADA VIOLET Whole plant Viola canadensis L. Violet Family Perennial with short, thick rhizome and slender stolons; to 10 in. Leaves heart-shaped or oval on long stalks; tips pointed; margins toothed. Flowers solitary from leaf axils. Petals white above, purple beneath, yellow-centered; bottom petal dark-lined, spurred; side petals hairy at base; Apr.–July. Pod splitting into 3 valves. Where found: Moist to dry woods. Ore. to ne. Wash., Idaho, Utah, Ariz. Rockies from Mont. to N.M.; eastern N. America. Uses: Native Americans used a root tea for pains in the bladder region. Externally, a poultice was used to treat skin abrasions and boils. In European traditions violet species were listed as soothing and softening for coughs and colds, urinary tract ailments, and skin conditions. Warning: Roots of most if not all violet species may induce vomiting.
Text copyright © 2002 by Steven Foster and Christopher Hobbs. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of Field,
By "ecobeetle" (Burnaby) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs (Paperback)
Peterson Field Guides has produced another winner. Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs by Steven Foster and Christopher Hobbs is a gorgeous guide book by, pardon the pun, the leaders in the field. This particular field guides sets the standard by which all medicinal plant guides should follow. Brilliant colour photographs of the over 500 identified species organized by colour for quick reference helps any novice quickly identify the plant and what'll happen if you try to make tea out of it. The detailed plant descriptions also include scientific name, family, location found, historical medicinal uses as well as highlighted warnings for poisons, allergies and other areas of caution. A very unique and special field guide Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs also offers harvesting and conservation tips. Pick this book up before you even considering picking flowers, herbs or plants for uses other than the filling your vase, it's a must have for anyone spending any extended time in the outdoors.
34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
All Too Disappointing,
By MDN "WarpLover" (Tucson, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs (Paperback)
I am a layman who is looking for a guide to herbs that would help me identify herbs in the wild. My expectation was that the photographs in
A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs would be fantastic and would help me ID plants in the wild with confidence. I was not pleased at all. The photographs in this book are thumbnail size and often show only the flowers of the plants in question. The book itself is of a tiny size and affords little space to have "real" close-up photographs of leaves and overall look of the plant in-situ. I would contrast this "Reader's Digest" version of a book made to identify plants in the wild with Roger Phillips' Mushrooms And Other American Fungi Of North America. This book is a full 11 3/4" X 8 3/4" and has photographs that fill a whole page, in some cases. I think it is fair to say that every photograph in Roger's book is larger than ANY picture in A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs, whose photographs are attributed Stephen Foster. A quick view of Foster's web site shows similar "thumbnail" sized photographs. I am greatly disappointed! The text contained within A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs pales in comparison with what can be found on line. I am hoping RHS Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses gives a better view and history of the plants. In closing, I would say this book should be the last on your list - not the first!
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I like it, but....,
By Eclectic Reader (Sunnyvale, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs (Paperback)
I struggled with what star classification to give this book. On one hand, I find it very informational. On the other hand, I have a hard time figuring out what plants I am looking at. Apparently you need to have some deeper knowledge of plants before using this book, which I don't have. So I find it difficult to use when I am in the field. I don't even bring it along with me anymore, and sometimes resort to take pictures of the plants and then see if I can find them in the book later. So I find the book to be very much a mixed bag.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
This book is meant to enlarge people's interaction with plants, and extend the appreciation of them beyond identification and beauty to explore their uses as folk medicines or as potential drugs. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
whole plant tea, root poulticed, leaf tea drunk, bracts below head, leaf poulticed, multibranched perennial, hairless perennial, hark tea, drank leaf tea, root tea drunk, folk cancer remedy, larger umbel, margins without teeth, cleansing purgative, stem tea, wash for sore eyes, abundant mucilage, widespread weed, upright catkins, insect kites, plant poultice, whitish film, agent that kills, disk flowers, may cause contact dermatitis Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
American Indian, Baja Calif, Sierra of Calif, North America, Native Americans, Rose Family Deciduous, United States, Costanoan Indians, Mint Family Aromatic, Raja Calif, Cahuilla Indians, Rocky Mts, The Kawaiisu, Thompson Indians, May July, Sierra Nevada, Kawaiisu Indians, Pacific Northwest, John's Wort, Most of Calif, Pine Family Large, Red Clover, The Cheyenne, Willow Family Deciduous, Keres Indians New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
This book is meant to enlarge people's interaction with plants, and extend the appreciation of them beyond identification and beauty to explore their uses as folk medicines or as potential drugs. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
whole plant tea, root poulticed, leaf tea drunk, bracts below head, leaf poulticed, multibranched perennial, hairless perennial, hark tea, drank leaf tea, root tea drunk, folk cancer remedy, larger umbel, margins without teeth, cleansing purgative, stem tea, wash for sore eyes, abundant mucilage, widespread weed, upright catkins, insect kites, plant poultice, whitish film, agent that kills, disk flowers, may cause contact dermatitis Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
American Indian, Baja Calif, Sierra of Calif, North America, Native Americans, Rose Family Deciduous, United States, Costanoan Indians, Mint Family Aromatic, Raja Calif, Cahuilla Indians, Rocky Mts, The Kawaiisu, Thompson Indians, May July, Sierra Nevada, Kawaiisu Indians, Pacific Northwest, John's Wort, Most of Calif, Pine Family Large, Red Clover, The Cheyenne, Willow Family Deciduous, Keres Indians New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 23
books:
See all 23 books this book cites
2
books
cite this book:
- Native Americans (People Who Made History) by Jason Hook on 5 pages
- Poisonous Plants of the United States and Canada by John Merriam Kingsbury in Back Matter
- The Chinese Materia Medica by Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Back Matter
- Poisonous Plants of California (California Natural History Guides) by Thomas C. Fuller in Back Matter
- American Indian Medicine (Civilization of the American Indian Series) by Virgil J. Vogel in Back Matter
See all 23 books this book cites
- Vitex: The Women's Herb by Christopher Hobbs in Back Matter
- Natural Therapy for your Liver by Christopher Hobbs in Front Matter
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