The Green Mantle: An Investigation Into Our Lost Knowledge of Plants

by Michael Jordan

“Witness Cro-Magnon marveling at plant life emerging from a winter’s thaw, medieval use of herbs and roots, and Mayan priests’ mythologizing of sacred rain forest trees. All trace humanity’s devotion to plants.”—Booklist. “Fascinating descriptions and aptly selected photographs inspire.”—NAPRA Review.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really know what to expect with this one. Just seeing that this guy had also written about the dark side of scientific progress and a comparison of different religious ideas led me to believe it'd be worth reading, rather than just a bunch of names of plants and descriptions of what they look like. Despite the title there isn't much in here I'd call "lost knowledge." Most of this stuff is more like forgotten origins of myths, rituals, taboos, customs, and holidays. So it's sort of an ethnobotany book focusing mainly on plants associated with religious beliefs, and so a lot of it deals with plants that induce visions. I've read a pretty good bit on these subjects already and I feel pretty much the same about this book that I feel about stuff like Jan Irvin's and Hans-Peter Durr's work. The general ideas are basically correct but I'm not too sure about a lot of the details. At one point he says the LEAVES of cannabis are used as a drug, which makes me question if he really knows what he's talking about with all the other stuff. And his ideas about the logic of primitive/indigenous people I think mixes up what are true beliefs and just mnemonic stories or tools for manipulation at times. So little stuff like that seems a bit off. Overall though it's at least worth reading if you're into this stuff. I wish there was more info in here that I actually consider useful though. Apparently morning glory seeds can be used as a substitute for LSD, so that's kind of good to know, I guess.