Cattail Moonshine & Milkweed Medicine: The Curious Stories of 43 Amazing North American Native Plants

by Tammi Hartung

History, literature, and botany meet in this charming tour of how humans have relied on plants to nourish, shelter, heal, clothe, and even entertain us. Did you know that during World War II, the US Navy paid kids to collect milkweed’s fluffy white floss, which was then used as filling for life preservers? And Native Americans in the deserts of the Southwest traditionally crafted tattoo needles from prickly pear cactus spines. These are just two of the dozens of tidbits that Tammi Hartung highlights in the tales of 45 native North American flowers, herbs, and trees that have rescued and delighted us for centuries.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Gardening, Plants, Science, History

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 20, 2016

About the author

Tammi Hartung is an ethnobotanical herbalist and organic farmer with more than 42 years of experience working with plants.

She and her husband, Chris, own Desert Canyon Farm, a certified organic farm since 1996 in southern Colorado, where they grow more than 3200 varieties of plants. They grow all types of herbs, heritage and heirloom food plants, native and wildlife habitat plants, edible flowers and more. In their flower seed production field, they grow over 60 varieties of perennials for a German seed company called Jelitto Perennial Seed Co, so seeds from Tammi's farm end up being grown by gardeners and growers all over the world!

Tammi is an international speaker and the author of Homegrown Herbs, The Wildlife-Friendly Vegetable Gardener and Cattail Moonshine & Milkweed Medicine. She blogs at desertcanyonfarm.wordpress.com

Tammi is passionate about plants and their relationship with people past, present and future. If a plant has been used by people or animals, Tammi is interested to understand that relationship. In addition, she is an avid hiker, a embroiderer of colored threads, loves to write, and enjoys life on her small farm with her husband, 3 very helpful cats, Cedar the farm dog, a sassy duck named Hannah and loads of wildlife.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very beautiful book that I’m excited to have in my collection of ~~plant books~~~. I especially loved that the author is a Coloradan, like myself, and frequently mentioned local plants, people and endeavors. My only concern with this book was the inconsistent ways indigenous nations and people were acknowledged and discussed. Frequently, I think indigenous nations were named in whatever way was most convenient rather than accurate or respectful (for example, the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe were never refered to as such. Rather, only Ojibwe and sometimes even Chippewa) and usually referred to in the past tense (for example, “Ojibwe people “believed” rather than believe etc). This is compounded by how most pictures of indigenous peoples included in this book are in black or white/illustrations while almost all of the modern farmers/artists/business-people profiles are white. I only point this out because I believe that ethnobotany isn’t accurate and isn’t ethical when we don’t acknowledge indigenous peoples, knowledges and histories of colonialism/imperialism accurately and respectfully.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice snippets of information from an herbalist. Questionable background with Native American teachings, however, and the author uses historical images with no context. Fun, but not authoritative.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful little volume full of delightful lore!

[Celest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very quick read of a selection of useful plants. Each chapter provides information on practical uses of each plant with an illustration and some photos of how used. The plants are in alphabetical order and the author provides the common and botanical names for each.

Two things that would have made this better are 1) include a photo of the entire specimen in whole, and 2) mapping of where each species is found.

I also believe that some of the plants listed are considered "naturalized" and not truely "native".

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A permaculture group book discussion choice this spring, and a good, light, easy-to-read with not too much to think about. I think we took it in four or five sections of about 45 pp each, which took me less than an hour to read. Lots of photos, illustrations, anecdotes, trivia, and facts about the different medicinal, health, food, instrument-making, fiber arts, industrial, and Native American (a variety of tribes named) uses of each plant, including Agave, Cranberry, Echinacea, Horsetail, Nettles, Panic Grass, Pine, Squash, Valerian, Wild Rice, Witch Hazel. 

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a nice used copy of this one at a local thrift shop and am excited to add this one to my gardening library. It contains a great deal of good information in a fun and attractive format and I will be asking my physician about a couple of new supplements based on what I read in this book. I was also reminded of herbal infusions that I used to love and have forgotten. Tisanes for the win! I recommend this one as a nice reference book to have on hand.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and full of fun facts about plants and their uses over time. An aside, if you're a gardener in Southern Colorado and don't know about Tammi Hartung's wonderful Desert Canyon Farm stand in Canon City, get to it! Open for an other month or so, and full of many of the plants mentioned here, plus a myriad of other gems.

[Meagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photos and fascinating Informational tidbits on a wide variety of plants found across North America.

I wish it had more information on (ethical) harvesting and use of these plants in a more practical sense, but that’s more my fault for not thoroughly reading the description or flipping through the book before purchasing.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book of random facts about common North American plants is easy to read and enjoyable. I'm not sure I'd call them "amazing" facts, but they are enjoyable. I'm not sure the volume has much value beyond sparking curiosity.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick read for those interested in gardening ad herbal remedies.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed this book of plants common in north america and their many uses. I appreciated that it was not just food and medicinal uses but many others. Learned so much.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting facts and stories about very useful native plants.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating information, and beautiful pictures.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really beautifully illustrated book! Filled with lots of interesting and informative tidbits of information on many different plants commonly found in North America.

[Jurene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This hook is great if you want an overview of different plants with some historical and cultural context. The photos and drawings are done well.

[Lindsay Sawey]

Beautifully illustrated!! picked up this book from the museum of natural sciences in Raleigh.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun overview of a number of different plants that are native to the US, their history, uses, and medicinal properties. A very eye-catching layout.

One minor quibble - the black walnut entry talks about how Rembrandt and Da Vinci used black walnut ink for writing and drawing, which has been debunked by the British Museum.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this lovely gem of a book called " Cattail Moonshine & Milkweed Medicine: Amazing Facts & Curious Uses for 43 Plants You Thought You Knew" by Tammi Hartung.

This book is incredibly well researched, packed with so much information in easy to read chapters on each plant. Hartung provides medicinal, culinary, industrial and folk-traditions for these plants and herbs in wonderfully written prose. I enjoyed the illustrations in the book as well, providing a simple guide to identifying the plants. Also, I like how Hartung includes how different indigenous and native people used these plants in their cultures.

Another enjoyable aspect of the book is the narrative story Hartung shares about certain plants, incorporating these interesting tales into the main content. These stories provide real-life ways people use these plants in a variety of ways.

Not all of the plants are available in my region, and unfortunately I have a black thumb, so won't be growing most of them. But I'm always trying to expand my herbal knowledge (which I am not very knowledgeable on the subject at all), and this really was a treasure of a book. After reading this, I want to make a small herb garden, maybe I will try my hand in the Spring.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

[Littlewolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork and photographs were beautiful. This book was more informative about history than uses but it did go over what parts of plants are used and a little over how. I felt this book focused more on the historical context of plants.