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Hidden Histories: Herbs: The Secret Properties of 150 Plants
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 28, 2017
From the time our ancestors first became something approaching Homo sapiens, on the African savannah 100,000+ years ago, until about, say, 50 years ago, we learned about the plants around us. This knowledge, perhaps hard won in times of famine, or by seeing what happens if you feed it to the dog or some other animal, was passed down from generation to generation.
It was added to whenever humans moved into a new area, whether north Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas, or anywhere else. One of the first priorities would be to figure out what of the local plant life was edible, what was poisonous, and I'm guessing at a much slower pace, what was medicinal.
Starting about 50-100 years ago, depending on when your ancestors stopped growing and foraging for their own food, and started buying it instead, this legacy of information was allowed to more or less die. The baton was dropped, after perhaps 5,000 successful handoffs.
Even more recently, however, books and the internet have picked it up again. The issue is, what to trust? One way to determine this, for a book like this one, is to look up a few plants that you DO know about from personal experience, and see if it gets those right. Of course, those might be the easy ones. Fortunately, it's not so difficult to cross-check against half a dozen other sources.
First, though, you have to know what to look for. This book does a good job of giving 1-2 pages to each of about 150 plants, with clear illustrations, Latin and common name(s), rumored and verified medicinal or craft uses, toxic parts, tips on how to grow it successfully, and so forth.
I read this book on the bus during my morning commute, 1 or 2 plants every morning, and took notes on which ones seemed worth follow-up research. Out of 150 plants, there seemed to be maybe 8-10 that merit further research on my part. Some of them require more sun than I have in my shady front and back yard, for example. But, reading the short history and potential uses of the others was a relaxing way to start the day, and I was sorry to come to the end of it.
It was added to whenever humans moved into a new area, whether north Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas, or anywhere else. One of the first priorities would be to figure out what of the local plant life was edible, what was poisonous, and I'm guessing at a much slower pace, what was medicinal.
Starting about 50-100 years ago, depending on when your ancestors stopped growing and foraging for their own food, and started buying it instead, this legacy of information was allowed to more or less die. The baton was dropped, after perhaps 5,000 successful handoffs.
Even more recently, however, books and the internet have picked it up again. The issue is, what to trust? One way to determine this, for a book like this one, is to look up a few plants that you DO know about from personal experience, and see if it gets those right. Of course, those might be the easy ones. Fortunately, it's not so difficult to cross-check against half a dozen other sources.
First, though, you have to know what to look for. This book does a good job of giving 1-2 pages to each of about 150 plants, with clear illustrations, Latin and common name(s), rumored and verified medicinal or craft uses, toxic parts, tips on how to grow it successfully, and so forth.
I read this book on the bus during my morning commute, 1 or 2 plants every morning, and took notes on which ones seemed worth follow-up research. Out of 150 plants, there seemed to be maybe 8-10 that merit further research on my part. Some of them require more sun than I have in my shady front and back yard, for example. But, reading the short history and potential uses of the others was a relaxing way to start the day, and I was sorry to come to the end of it.
March 11, 2018
Wow, just wow. Learned so much and I'm a plant nerd. Must get own copy.
April 9, 2018
Full of great information about herbs, from historical to pop culture. Maybe I'll give growing my own another try.
September 10, 2022
Would be a five if it wouldn't include closed practise.
October 11, 2022
short but sweet. a very fun read and very well laid out visually
December 18, 2016
A wonderful and concise guide to popular garden herbs, their history and uses. The beautiful botanical drawings make this book a must have for any avid gardener. My only complaint is that the print is very small (reading glasses required).
October 22, 2020
Beautiful reading on the way to work. 30 min bus ride and one double page read so I learned about different plants their use and history and even in magical powers. Relaxed learning.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews