Essential Bookshelf: A Modern Herbal

If this two-volume set isn't in your herbal library, it should be. Originally published in 1931, reprinted by Dover in 1971 and updated with cross-referencing and an index in 1982, Mrs. M(aud) Grieve gives a wealth of information on hundreds of herbs. Not only does she describe the plant, in most instances she'll give you cultivation information; mythological and historical tidbits; chemical constituents; and, of course, medicinal usages – with recipes.

When reading the latter, one has to...