Gregory L. Tilford. From Earth to Herbalist. Mountain Press. 1998.

The herbalist philosophy regarding "earth" is presented in the introduction. Then information on handling and using herbs is provided. Some may find the introduction a bit offensive because of the philosophy expressed there. If you can overlook this problem, you will find the remainder of the book useful.

The heading for each plant begins with the common name followed by the species name (in italics). Plant family is identified along with other common names, parts of the plant used, and the main action of the plant. This arrangement for the headings turned me off immediately because it uses common names instead of the scientific name to alphabetize the species discussed in this book. This makes it very difficult to find the plant you want (assuming you use scientific names) and results in plants of the same family not appearing adjacent to each other.

The information presented for each plant includes a photograph, general comments, information on habitat and range, application (how used in herbal medicine), possible alternatives or additions, propagation/growth characteristics, and general information on gathering and storing for future use. Then it discusses any plant-animal interdependence and comments on its environmental needs.

Recommendation

I find this book easy to use (with the exception mentioned above). It is easy to understand and well-organized. It appears to be useful throughout the North American continent. I do not recommend this book for children because of the possibility that they will falsely identify a plant and wind up being poisoned, resulting in severe illness or even death.