An extraordinary compilation of the plants used by North American native peoples for medicine, food, fiber, dye, and a host of other things. Anthropologist Daniel E. Moerman has devoted 25 years to the task of gathering together the accumulated ethnobotanical knowledge on more than 4000 plants. More than 44,000 uses for these plants by various tribes are documented here. This is undoubtedly the most massive ethnobotanical survey ever undertaken, preserving an enormous store of information for the future.
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" Native American Ethnobotany is an essential reference for all those interested in the uses of plants."
—Wild Food Forum, March 2005 (Wild Food Forum )
—Wild Food Forum, March 2005 (Wild Food Forum )
Book Description
An extraordinary compilation of the plants used by North American native peoples for medicine, food, fiber, dye, and a host of other things. More than 44,000 uses for some 4000 plants by various tribes are documented here.
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53 of 53 people found the following review helpful
By Paul Bergner
Format:Hardcover
Dr. Daniel Moerman has spent several decades building a database based on the scholarly literature on Native American Ethnobotany. The steadily growing information has has several print and online incarnations, and this book, the latest, is by far the most extensive. A summary review of the body of literature on the subject, cross referenced by plant, by tribe, and by therapeutic catagory. Indispensable for the student of native ethnobotany. The book may be a disappointment for the reader wanting great detail on dosages and specifics on usages -- much detail has been lost while adapting the information to database style. It remains the one book a student should own if he or she can afford only one.
64 of 66 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Ever since I was a little girl I have been fascinated with how our ancestors used plants for food as well as medicine. It wasn't until a few years ago that I started seeking out and purchasing books on edible and medicinal plants. I subscribed to different publications whose main focus was this subject. Any article in magazines on this subject immediately grabbed my attention. Then with the wonderful internet becoming available to anyone with a computer, my search for information took an exciting turn. One website for information linked to another site, and then to another and so on. But through time and my amateur research I discovered my interest started centering more and more on how Native Americans used plants for different purposes not only edible and medicinal but for dyes for ornamentation, for baskets and cooking vessels, for seasoning, etc. But I was so overwhelmed with information that didn't focus on this specific area until I came across the website of Dan Moerman's Native American Ethnobotany database; I found nirvana. I blundered around and through the website for months but with his kind help and patience with my questions I began to use his database in a more productive way. But then I discovered he had recently published a book called Native American Ethnobotany!! (...) When I received the book I thought I had died and gone to heaven! I can't speak for professionals but for amateurs like me he has saved me many hours of research in one way but has in turn stimulated my desire to continue researching this fascinating subject but now with a more educated direction. This is one of the items I would run back to save if my house ever burned down! It is worth every penny and is priceless in its information.
53 of 54 people found the following review helpful
By Benkei
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is an amazing encyclopedia. Too many plant books are just scattered information which never satisfy me completely. This book is the most comprehensive book on Native American ethnobotany I have come across. There are various indexes for easy lookup of particular plants. E.g., you can look up the common name of a plant, get the proper Latin name for it and go to the proper section. There the plant is presented from various viewpoints, the plant as used for food, as a drug (medicinal), utilitarean (e.g basket weaving), which tribes used it, etc.. Various indexes in the back let you look up, for instance, all the plants the Blackfeet used, or all the plants used for food, which tribe used the inner bark of Cottonwood and for what purpose. Just an amazing compilation. Definitely worth it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
herbs and more
Not something you would want to just sit down and read but a lot of very good information. Glad I have it
Published 2 months ago by Terry Johsnon
3.0 out of 5 stars
NO Pictures
book is very informative on native plants.
no pictures, no line drawings. So if you are not familar with most of them,
you would have to search elsewhere, like the... Read more
no pictures, no line drawings. So if you are not familar with most of them,
you would have to search elsewhere, like the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Cecelia Harrison
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this book!
This is the ultimate book on Native American Ethnobotany - that many other books are written from. We felt is was an essential part of our research library and are excited that it... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Ravalli County Museum
5.0 out of 5 stars
Native American Ethnobotany
The Native American Ethnobotany book is full of information on native plants which the American Indian Tribes have used for ages. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Ruth
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most comprehensive native plant book
Native American Ethnobotany is the most comprehensive native plant and ethanobotany book I own (and I own LOTS of both books). Read more
Published 21 months ago by aiwf
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous reference book!
I can really appreciate this book because I know how much work went into creating it. Although I wish there was more detail about how the plants were used I'm able to cross... Read more
Published on December 12, 2009 by Randy J. Mercurio
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential addition to ethnobotany library
As many of the previous reviews said, this book is an excellent reference. It is not a field guide, nor was it meant to be: the usage information is very brief, there are no... Read more
Published on April 7, 2009 by Jesse Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Single Source on Native American Uses of Plants
This is a big, solid hardcover volume that should be part of every library and university collection's plant and/or Native American reference sections. Read more
Published on October 13, 2008 by Lance M. Foster
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent reference book
This is a great informational book. I couldn't wait to get it. The only thing lacking that would really be complete would be a pictorial key which I know is impossible for the... Read more
Published on June 18, 2008 by Mochamantis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Native American Ethnobotany: A primordial survival guide to healthy...
This is a bible of plant uses that goes a LONG way! It doesn't include the dichotomic keys to identify the plant, but it tell you what has been done with them for the past... Read more
Published on June 17, 2008 by Eric Boucher
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