Medicinal Plants of the World [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Ben-Erik van Wyk (Author), Michael Wink (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0881926027 | ISBN-13: 978-0881926026 | Publication Date: February 15, 2004 | Edition: 1

Medicinal Plants of the World is a comprehensive and scientifically accurate guide to the best-known and most important medicinal plants. The book includes descriptions of more than 300 medicinal plants and their close relatives. Each entry gives a short summary with a description of the plant, the geographical origin, therapeutic category, historical and modern uses, active ingredients, and pharmacological effects. More than 500 full-color photographs assist in the identification of the plants. It is an essential reference guide for health care professionals — doctors, nurses, and especially pharmacists — or anyone with an interest in medicinal plants and their uses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This stunning new book is a user-friendly guide to 320 plants."
—J. S. Whelan, Choice, September 2004 (Choice )

"An in-depth, scientifically accurate, superbly presented, seminal survey and guide to the best-known medicinal plants ... a reference that health care professionals will relish and refer to time and time again."
—Bookwatch, July 2004 (Bookwatch )

"Medicinal Plants of the World is a scientifically accurate guide to the best-known and most important medicinal plants of special commercial or historical interest which is a rapidly expanding field."
—Joanne S. Carpender, National Gardener, June 2004 (National Gardener )

Book Description

This fascinating book describes more than 300 medicinal plants and their close relatives. Each entry includes a description of the plant, the geographical origin, therapeutic category, historical and modern uses, and pharmacological effects. Includes more than 500 color photographs.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press; 1 edition (February 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881926027
• ISBN-13: 978-0881926026
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a professor of botany at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, with research interests in plant classification, medicinal plants and ethnobotany. My main job is to publish the latest botanical discoveries of our research group in scientific journals. My after-hours hobby, however, is to take photographs of plants and to write colourful botanical books - each representing the end result of a personal journey of discovery that I wish to share with fellow plant enthusiasts. The aim is to provide a conceptualization of the subject and a scientifically accurate summary of the most important facts, presented in a practical, colourful and user-friendly way.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise, thorough, user-friendly reference, April 23, 2004

By 

AnthroMom "Karol" (Nacogdoches, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medicinal Plants of the World (Hardcover)

This really is a great addition to your shelf if you're an ethnobotanist, botanist, or health practitioner. The book is very user-friendly and has all of the medicinal plants from the German Commission E monographs, the new ESCOP and WHO's (World Health Organization) medicinal plant monographs. The entries are short, but packed with synonymous names, origin, useful parts, uses, preparation/dosage information, warnings, and status. The listing of active ingredients is quite nice -- and more explicit than many similar sources. There is additional information on over 900 additional medicinally-useful plants in the appendix. In addition to useful and easy-use-indexes, the book has a nice introductory section. The summary information on botanical medicine use in numerous cultures is more complete than the usual reference of this sort. The text is clearly written and the book itself is of high quality with crisp photos, easy-to-read print, a solid hardcover binding. It's definitely worth the price and makes a good, easy reference.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference book..and pretty too..., April 24, 2005

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Medicinal Plants of the World (Hardcover)

In the past few years, I have become more interested in herbal remedies and essential oils. Although I have obtained a few good books from the essential oil sources concerning their products, I have also taken the time to investigate and cross-reference material from other sources. Hence, my purchase of MEDICINAL PLANTS by Ben-Erik van Wyk and Michael Wink. While Rodale's book on Herbs provided me with information about how to grow selected plants, and THE REFERENCE GUIDE FOR ESSENTIAL OILS by Connie and Alan Higley explained how to apply the oils - make infusions and/or nebulize oils, MEDICINAL PLANTS provides information about the botany of these plants as well as a history of their various applications within the framework of health systems such as `Aromatherapy', `Homeopathy', and traditional medicine -- Chinese, Ayurvedic, or something else.

You will sometimes hear it said, probably by disingenuous spokespersons for international Pharmaceutical and/or Petro-Chemical companies or their ilk, that nontraditional treatments such as the application of essential oils is dangerous because the most of the oils, herbs, etc. have not been "government tested". The truth is, most have been tested, just not perhaps by the US FDA (some have been "officially" tested, but many carry GRAS or "generally regarded as safe" ID, many have been found safe and efficacious in Europe or Canada). In addition, traditional medicines from China and India represent thousands of years of testing though trial and error and outcome. Some of these remedies are so old you will never discover their origin while the origins of others are well known. Lastly, not everything is known about many "modern" medicines which are generally subjected to shorter periods of inquiry before they are released for commerce.

Now, this does not mean you should use any old plant wily-nily. Of course not. And, these authors recommend you seek professional help in the form of a traditional healer before you apply a tincture, ointment, etc. made with a natural product. But books like this volume by a reputable European source are a good place to begin educating yourself. Some plants have known side effects and some can kill. "Fortunately", the authors write, "herbal drugs or botanical(s) have a large therapeutic window between the `effective' dose and the `toxic' dose."

Plants can be sources for vitamins and minerals, sports medicine, and food. It may surprise you to learn that many so-called "modern" medicines have a natural basis (aspirin and digitalis, to name but two). Perusing this book, I was surprised to see how many of these medicinal plants I grow in my own yard. This beautiful book includes about 325 pages of color photos and text depicting and describing various plants and plant parts with 1-2 entries per page. In the back you will find an index linking traditional medicines and ailments and a `Quick Guide to Commercialised Medicinal Plants" which will tell you among other things that `Modern Medicine' has appropriated a number of traditional plant sources for its own uses.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hluhlwe-Imfolozi, South Africa, February 16, 2007

By 

John Scarborough "Professor" (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Medicinal Plants of the World (Hardcover)

On 10 July 2005, I purchased the original hardback version, as published by Briza in Pretoria (in the bookshop attached to the Game Park at Hluhlwe-Imfolozi [pronounced 'Shosoolayzee-Imfolozee'] north of Durban). Among all the guides to phytology and botanical chemistry that I own, I have found van Wyk's beautifully-illustrated reference to be the most honest regarding side effects, as well as the best 'first reference' to regional applications of various herbs throughout the world. The attached appendices (viz. "Overview of Secondary Metabolites and their Effects" and "Quick Guide to Commercialized Medicinal Plants") are enormously helpful as one keys basic biochemistry and determines 'who sells what to whom and where.' The index is a model of its kind, including all Linnaean names, as well as 'common' names, with a good selection of African species south of the Congo. In company with the classic A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man by George Usher (London, 1974), van Wyk's assemblage almost always narrows a 'search' for a particular herb so that one can pursue it accurately in more advanced references of phytochemistry and medical botany.