This weekend I'm in Las Vegas watching my nephew compete in American Ninja Warrior. That means VERY late nights (3:30 on Friday), long waits, and exciting watching of some amazing athletes. In my free time I've been studying herbs. I'm compiling a data base I hope to use in my writing. My first source for information is from "Culpeper's Color Herbal" based on the original "The Complete Herbal" published in 1649. He wanted to produce an herbal the commoner could use, based on local English herbs that were easily found. The version I use is published by Sterling Publishing Company in New York, 1983. It includes many colored illustrations of the herbs and modern medical uses of each plant. As you study herbs, you quickly see that many plants are recommended for the same ailments. What isn't as apparent is that only certain herbs might be available during each season, so a variety of options was important to the self healer. I highly recommend this book to any historical writers and herbalists. The information on current medical usage is invaluable to those of us trying to learn how to use this ancient knowledge.
RSS Feed
