Healing Plants [Paperback]

Ana Nez Heatherley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

Medicinal uses, scientific explanations, growing tips, and preparations for North American plants and herbs.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Healing Plants is a concise guide to traditional herbal medicine, written for both the beginner and the seasoned herbalist. Ana Nez Heatherley draws from her Native American and Celtic ancestry as she examines one hundred types of healing plants and herbs common to North America - from aloe and chickweed to periwinkle and yucca - citing the afflictions they remedy and offering understandable scientific explanations for each plant's effectiveness. Interweaving folklore throughout, Heatherley also gives growing tips, methods of preparing everything from a poultice to a tincture, herbal food ideas, and information on the latest research. With a color identification section, helpful cross-reference lists, location maps, and informative sidebars, Healing Plants is the most practical book for anyone looking for an alternative to modern medicine. (6 X 9, 288 pages, color photos, maps)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558215093
• ISBN-13: 978-1558215092
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless look into Ana Nez's Cherokee "wild pharmacy", April 27, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (New Orleans, La.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healing Plants: A Medicinal Guide to Native North American Plants and Herbs (Hardcover)

A great book for natural healing enthusiasts, focusing on the medicinal plants used by Native Americans, the science surrounding them, and tips, photos and maps for finding, identifying anp preparing them.

5.0 out of 5 stars Healing Plants, March 14, 2010

By 

Carla C. Kerr (Weatherford, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Healing Plants (Paperback)

To me, this extremely informative book on plants almost reads like a novel. Not only do you learn about these plants, but she also writes about how the Cherokee Indians used these plants in their daily lives. I read it from cover to cover in two days. Taking just two examples; she explains how poisonous potatoes and onions can be. Green colored potatoes are poisonous as are potatoes with roots growing out of them in your potato bin. When one cuts into an onion, they should use the whole onion right then or throw what is left away. Onions attract whatever is around them and thus, can become poisonous. If you are suffering with a respiratory problem, cut an onion in half and set it on the nightstand by your bed. It will draw the poison from you and turn black overnight. Fascinating stuff! I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in healing themselves and/or learning more about everyday plants around us and how to use them.

4.0 out of 5 stars an impressive account, August 24, 2006

By 

Reader Views "Reviews, by readers, for readers" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healing Plants (Paperback)

Reviewed by Juanita Watson for Reader Views (8/06)

Ana Nez Heatherley comes from a long family line of herbalists. She is a registered nurse, speaks regularly on the topic of traditional herbal medicine, and has written for the highly credited magazine Mother Earth News.

Her book "Healing Plants: A Medicinal Guide to Native North American Plants and Herbs" is an excellent addition to any library, but especially for anyone interested in traditional and herbal medicine. Heatherley explores approximately one hundred plants and herbs common to North America. Though some information here may be redundant to a seasoned herbalist, there is a number of herbs that you don't see in the typical books of this genre - such as Buttonbush, Catalpa, and Prairie tea. I actually don't remember seeing Prairie tea mentioned anywhere else, let alone with a picture as included in Heatherley's book. Impressive!

Heatherley includes distribution maps, bullet-point side bars, and photo section containing a picture for every plant. This combined with practical applications, interesting folklore, tips, cautions, recipes, and more, round out this informative and interesting book.

I have a very large library of herbal books and it takes a lot to impress me these day - unfortunately, many simply repeat the same information. "Healing Plants" was an unsuspected surprise! Heatherley provides a slightly new perspective on the commonly known medicinal plants, and an impressive account of many not-so-well-known plants that deserve their day in the spotlight.

Received book free of charge.