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A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides (R)) | 
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| Authors: James A. Duke, Steven Foster
Creator: Roger Tory Peterson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Category: Book
List Price: $19.00
Buy New: $12.27
You Save: $6.73 (35%)
New (34) Used (9) from $11.66
Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 9727
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 4.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0395988144
Dewey Decimal Number: 581.6340973
UPC: 046442988148
EAN: 9780395988145
ASIN: 0395988144
Publication Date: December 28, 1999
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
FIELD GUIDE TO EASTERN TREES
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 An herbal degree in our pocket May 5, 2000
GENE GERUE (Zanoni, MO USA)
58 out of 61 found this review helpful
Here is everything that a field guide should be and contain--small enough to stick into a pocket but comprehensive, definitive, dependable and well-illustrated. Pictures, descriptions, locations, uses, warnings. Foster is not only an herbalist of the first rank but one of the finest plant photographers out there clicking. His gorgeous Healing Plants calendar is on my wall; the verdant photos provide daily pleasure. Herbal preparations as alternatives to synthetic drugs are increasingly chosen. St. John's Wort for depression, Saw Palmetto for prostate treatment, Goldenseal for a multitude of symptoms. Not typically thought of as herbs, trees are also a part of our living pharmacy and 66 are included here. Ginkgolides extracted from leaves of the Ginkgo tree (ginkgo biloba) are the best-selling herbal preparation in Europe. Aspirin derives from the willow. Amongst shrubs I learned that Hawthorn leaf and flower preparations are used in Germany to treat congestive heart failure, based on at least 14 controlled clinical studies. With increasing usage, many plants are in danger of being overharvested. Conservation is necessary to preserve a viable natural community of plants that can and may help alleviate human suffering. Stopping plant thieves is a law enforcement challenge but easy identification of plants may save others of us from bulldozing a patch of ginseng for a house site. It is noted that Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida) "is common in eastern Kansas but it is very rare in western North Carolina at the eastern extreme of its range. The plant might be judiciously harvested in Kansas, but in North Carolina it should be left alone." More than just a field guide, Medicinal Plants and Herbs is an essential reference book for our personal library. The value of this big little book can hardly be overestimated.
 Intriguing Herbal Lore for the Amateur Botanist November 1, 2001
Shawn Moses (Baltimore, MD)
32 out of 32 found this review helpful
Just when you thought there were no more plant identification guides to be written, Peterson's came out with this interesting little guide. In its pages you will find the many thousands of uses that numerous cultures have found for North American plants. From dubious cure-alls to modern cancer drugs, this guide describes them all, and their poisonous look alikes. If you already have Peterson's tree or wildflower guides, be prepared for a bit of Deja vu - there is considerable overlap in both text descriptions and illustrations. Also, don't set up your folk remedy pharmacy just yet - this book doesn't give dosage advice for the vast majority of species it describes. The authors are very strident in saying that this book is for information only, not clinical advice. That said, you will find innumerable fascinating tidbits of herbal lore between its covers.
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs April 22, 2000
28 out of 28 found this review helpful
I have just recently become interested in learning about the wild plants of my area and this book seems to be the most extensive resource about medicinal plants available. I like it because it is clear and concise, contains information on plant use and history, has color photographs to go with each entry, and includes poisonous look-a-likes and possible side effects of otherwise safe plants. I do, however, find the organization to be a bit confusing. For instance, it is simple to find the section on plants with yellow flowers, the pages are color coded, but difficult to differentiate between sections for button like composite flowers and dandelion like flowers. This results in a lot of time spent looking at pictures of yellow flowers. I much prefer the orginization of the Peterson Guide to Edible Wild Plants, which is similar but more clearly labled. I also think that the line pictures in that book have many benifits over the photographs contained in the medicinal plants field guide. The drawings offer well focused close up views from more than one angle if neccessary, this is not always possible with photos and a few pictures in the book are fuzzy. Overall I think that this is an excellent resource book.
Can always count on the field guide books September 2, 2003
Jae Cha (Olathe, KS United States)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I took it and used it. It's filled with great information. I only wish it had a quick plant look up structure where we can identify plants based on leaves and flowers. You know like one of those indexes that has a quick leaf and flower recognition tabs on the side. Either way a good research book and very indepth.
Great field guide December 3, 2003
Eric L., Yarnell (Seattle, WA, USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Though I don't live in the eastern US and have rarely had a chance to do field botany when I have been there, this is a great little reference when I am researching herbs found in the eastern US. Again, Dr. Duke's and Mr. Foster's great knowledge and willingness to organize it for the rest of us is deeply appreciated.
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