Customer Reviews

Herbs of the Amazon: Common & Traditional Uses

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This is one of the worst, most amateurish, guides on medicinal plants I have seen. The anecdotal information presented - and there is not much of it- has been gleaned from a number of articles and books of variable credibility, pasted together with some cartoon-like drawings of the plants. These rather poor illustrations are apparently the only original contribution of the author. Many of the plants included, such as Boldo, Peppermint, and Chamomile, are of temperate regions, and do not belong in this book. Moreover, the author intermixes Spanish, English and Portuguese names without noting which one she is using. Given the sources, the accuracy of scientific names, is questionable, and a cursory glance revealed several spelling errors (e.g. Bauhinia spelt as Baujinia). The text also contains botanical errors, such as suggesting that figs originate from tropical forests. All of this, coupled with the fact that the sources used for each plant listed are not cited, nor are any details of preparation and administration included, makes the book an almost useless resource, both from a scientific and educational viewpoint.

The only readers who may appreciate this book are those with severe budget constraints who know absolutely nothing about this topic, and who simply wish to gather a handful of anecdotes regarding Amazonian medicinal plants.