Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine: The Definitive Home Reference Guide to 550 Key Herbs with all their Uses as Remedies for Common Ailments

Fully updated, comprehensive, and authoritative, this is a revised edition of the first completely illustrated reference guide to more than 550 medicinal herbs from the world's great herbal traditions.

USES THE LATEST RESEARCH

Based on the latest scientific research, The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants provides a fascinating insight into the chemistry of plants and their healing properties, explaining how and why they work as medicines within the body.

IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING

The major herbal traditions practiced in different regions of the world -- Europe, India, China, Africa, Australia, and the Americas -- are vividly described and reviewed from a historical perspective, revealing the intimate connection between the growth of herbal medicine and the culture in which it is used.

COMPREHENSIVE SOURCE OF INFORMATION

A unique photographic index profiles over 550 plants with detailed information on habitat and cultivation, parts used, active constituents, therapeutic properties, research, and traditional and current uses. The profiles of the 100 most common plants also include herbal preparations and recommendations for self-treatment.

PRACTICAL AND EASY TO FOLLOW

This practical section outlines how to grow, harvest, and store medicinal plants. The easy-to-follow photographic guide shows how to make different types of remedies for home use, with expert guidance on self-treatment for over 60 common ailments.

Practical and informative, The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants is the definitive reference guide for everyone wishing to derive benefit from the healing properties of plants.

An illustrated guide to 550 medicinal plants offers readers the most up-to-date scientific data on these miraculous gifts of nature, as well as information on how to prepare remedies to treat more than sixty common ailments.

This is the second edition of Chevallier's The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants (LJ 12/96). Although the title has changed, the format and contents are substantially the same. Careful comparison of the two editions, though, reveals that the text of the second edition has been revised to reflect the latest herbal research and includes some herbs not mentioned in the earlier book, such as cat's claw. The new edition also addresses the issues of quality control and the safe use of herbal remedies. But as with the original, initial and final chapters address the development of herbal medicine, world herbal traditions, and home remedies. Sandwiched between this material is an alphabetical listing by Latin name of 550 of the most commonly used individual herbs. One hundred key plants are given a full-page spread outlining their habitat and cultivation, related species, key constituents and actions, research, traditional and current uses, parts used, key preparations, and self-help uses. In a separate alphabetical list, an additional 450 plants are covered in less detail. A fine bibliography and index complete the book. As with all DK publications, the encyclopedia is lavishly illustrated with high-quality color captioned photographs and focus boxes. Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs (1998) is a similar title directed to a different audience. Although the Rodale book addresses briefly the medicinal uses of the listed herbs, there is a much stronger emphasis on the horticultural and culinary aspects. Deni Bown's Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses (1995) is more comprehensive, covering over 1000 herbs, but has less information regarding their medicinal use. Therefore, the new Chevallier volume remains a top choice for a library reference on the medicinal use of herbs for the public, although North American practitioners will find it lacking in the coverage of regional herbs. Recommended for both public and academic libraries. Mary Stout, Pima Community Coll., Tucson, AR
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A completely revised and updated edition of the classic reference guide to herbs and their use in medicine, indispensable for anyone wishing to develop their knowledge of alternative health.
-- Illustrated features explore herbal traditions and the use of herbs as a form of healing around the world, from China and India to Europe and the Americas
-- An easy-to-access Home Pharmacy section shows how to make herbal preparations and recommends safe, effective remedies for a wide range of common ailments and health problems
-- An Illustrated Index of Medicinal Herbs profiles more than 550 plants, systematically detailing their history, cultivation, constituents, properties, and traditional and current uses

This accessible, authoritative, and informative reference guide provides a unique insight into the medicinal actions of herbs, based on the latest scientific research.

Andrew Chevallier, FNIMH, is an experienced medical herbalist and lecturer in herbal medicine. He is a member of Herbalists on Columbia Road (HCR) in London, a think tank of herbalists, doctors, chemists and toxicologists that collect and distribute informaiton on herbal remedies in the only country in which herbal medicine is legal.