Wild Roots [Paperback]

Doug Elliott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1995

For more than two decades Doug Elliot has wandered the fields, forests, and marshlands of North America gathering roots and herbs, and plant lore. A labor of love, Wild Roots is filled with practical information, extraordinary drawings and lively commentary, and offers a wealth of information about the roots, rhizomes, and tubers of North America.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A wealth of information about almost sixty roots of North American plants. . . . It, altogether, is a thought-provoking little book, obviously a labor of love."
(Natural Farmer, Winter 1998/99 )

"With its wealth of information and delightfully humorous flavor, Wild Roots refreshes the spirit like a hot cup of sassafras tea."
(Cincinnati Enquirer )

About the Author

Doug Elliott is the author of Woodslore and Wildwoods Wisdom and lives in Union Mills, North Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Healing Arts Press (December 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892815388
• ISBN-13: 978-0892815388
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Re: Meyers, January 28, 2008

By 

naturally glass "Veda" (Western NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Roots (Paperback)

Meyers misses the point. Wild Roots was never intended to be a field guide. Wild Roots is a celebration of useful and interesting wild roots. There are dozens of books that illustrate the upper parts of the plants. This book illustrates, with beautifully detailed drawings, the underground parts of 60 wild plants (and mentions a dozen or more that are not illustrated). The area of focus is eastern North America from southern Canada into the Deep South. It is strange that Meyers would say the book is useless outside of the Appalachians. Ten of the plants in the book are found all the way out to the west coast and practically all of them are found in Meyers' home state of New York. It's not a field guide; it is a celebration. It has been in print for more than 30 years and some consider it a classic.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 1st Rate book for anyone interested in plants, June 12, 2011

By 

Fischer J. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Roots (Paperback)

I have never written a review before, but feel forced to do so after reading the ridiculous 1 star review this book was given by a certain S.C. Meyers of Syracuse NY.
I would agree with him/her that this book does focus on the eastern United States, but that is it. This book covers many plants of the region east of the Mississippi and for me, living in Northern Michigan, it is indispensable. It is witty, whimsical and above all, informative. Anyone who has any interest beyond casual names of plants and really looks for ethnobotanical experience will find more than they hoped for in this book.
To say that this book is only focused on plants of the Appalachians shows the ignorance of that reviewer who, if they are from where they claim, actually live on the Northernmost border of the Allegheny Plateau of the Appalachian Region. I do not doubt that most of the plants in the book, if not all, grow in their area. This person is disconnected from their bioregion enough to not only never recognize plant names from their region, but to completely misspell their region's name and not even recognize they are living there. They even do themselves a further disservice by not recognizing the purpose and scope of this book: to appreciate and understand Wild ROOTS. This is not a plant ID guide. It is to cover a subject rarely tackled in the botanical world.
If you have a problem identifying plants, get a plant ID book. If you got that plant ID book and want to learn something more than just plant names; if you want to know folk wisdom, superstitions, woods-lore and medicine surrounding the plant - its relation to us as humans - then this is an absolute must-have.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this book..., July 18, 2010

By 

Nancy Brickhouse Pelletier "A Genuine Bibliop... (Beaufort, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Roots (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book very much. I met Doug Elliott not too long ago and found him to be very entertaining and is quite the character. He really knows what he is talking about. I am looking forward to reading his other books and listening to his CDs.