Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places [Paperback]

Steve Brill (Author), Evelyn Dean (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 20, 1994 | Series: And Not So Wild Places

Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places shows readers how to find and prepare more than five hundred different plants for nutrition and better health, including such common plants as mullein (a tea made from the leaves and flowers suppresses a cough), stinging nettle (steam the leaves and you have a tasty dish rich in iron), cattail (cooked stalks taste similar to corn and are rich in protein), and wild apricots (an infusion made with the leaves is good for stomach aches and disgestive disorders).

More than 260 detailed line drawings help readers identify a wide range of plants -- many of which are suited for cooking by following the more than thirty recipes included in this book. There are literally hundreds of plants readily available underfoot waiting to be harvested and used either as food or as a potential therapeutic. This book is both a field guide to nature's bounty and a source of intriguing information about the plants that surround us.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Naturalist-Author "Wildman" Steve Brill has been leading public foraging tours in parks throughout the greater New York area since 1982. He works with schools, day camps, environmental organizations, museums, parks departments, nature centers, scouts, garden clubs, and educational farms, from March to December.

His Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not-So-Wild) Places (HarperCollins Publishers, 1994) is considered a classic on the subject.His innovative Wild Vegan Cookbook (Harvard Common Press, 2002) is changing the way people think of preparing gourmet food. His Shoots and Greens of Early Spring in Northeastern North America (self-published, 1986 and 2008) teaches people how the foraging season begins, and his Foraging With the Wildman DVD series, along with the website he created, is showing people how it's all done. But he's still best known for having been handcuffed and arrested by undercover New York City park rangers for eating a dandelion in Central Park!

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1 edition (May 20, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688114253
• ISBN-13: 978-0688114251
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Botany
  • #20 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Gardening & Landscape Design > Reference

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

231 of 238 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Slightly Disappointed October 16, 2003

By DigitalSorceress

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

On the whole, this book is interesting and informative, but I was slightly disappointed with the logical layout. The information in the book is fairly detailed and interesting, but is presented in a narrative manner. The book takes a season/habitat based approach... I guess I was expecting a more trait-based heirarchical listing system. Something that would facilitate taking an unknown plant and quickly looking up the answers to "what is it? is it edible? is it medicinal? if so, what are the details"

The approach also tends to give details on a few interesting / especially good flavored or nutricious plants and then gives a names-only grocery list of "Edible and medicinal plants" and then one of "For Observation only"

So, in summary, if you know a bit about general plant identification and your focus is on what's available for the season and habitat, this book is a valuable resource, but if you're looking for a field identification and classification tool, this is probably not the best choice.

133 of 135 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the top 10 herb books in print. June 28, 1999

By Charles Garcia

Format:Paperback

As a professional herbalist and herbal teacher I have over two hundred herbals and field guides at my disposal. Steve "Wildman" Brill leads the field in combining an herbal and edible plant field guide, which is readable, comprehensive, and most important ACCURATE. His final chapter of recipes will make most readers want to head into the backcountry just to find the proper edibles. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for the beginner or the professional herbalist.

71 of 73 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice June 22, 2005

By Damosurfer

Format:Paperback

Although a little on the introductory side, I really enjoyed this book. I am a researcher in botany areas and I can say that the author does a great job at describing and aiding to identify and separate useful plants from obnoxious look-alikes. Somebody here suggested that the book could be organized in some hierarchical form. That is equivalent of a botanical taxonomy key. It would be great but there are keys for the purpose of organizing the info and helping to pick plants apart. I don't think it is essential here.

Somebody else said that the pretty drawings are only on the cover... is there a more literal analog of "judging the book by its cover"? While the drawings inside are black and white they serve the purpose. They are very well drawn and they are useful in identifying the plant in question. Tha author is also very conscientious and will not hesitate to say he doesn't know something and advices caution when pertinent. Excellent job.

The bottom line: it is very interesting, well organized and it sparks your curiosity. And if you wish to have a deeper treaty on any particular topic or plant you can always refer to a more specialized publication. $15? You can't go wrong.