Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places

Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places | Steve Brill | great book!

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Identifying and Ha...

	Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places Steve Brill Harper Paperbacks, 1994 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 33 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Well selected information and the right mind-set.

This is the best book on edible plants I have yet encountered, and I own 7. The information is really carefully researched, both by library work and extensive personal experience; lots of books propagate the errors of other references, or ignore documented risks. I'm personally a bit reserved about medicinal uses of plants (not because plant medicines are ineffective, but because they can be quite powerful) but Brill has me at least more intrigued than I have been for a while. The writing is engaging and often humorous, without obscuring a thorough coverage of each plant - where and when it is found, what parts to use and how to collect them, and finally how to prepare for eating. While I'm at it, I'll cast my vote in favor of the excellent drawings instead of photos; colors are a lot less helpful for plant identification than many people realize.

In addition to all of these merits the book teaches what I think is the ideal attitude for foraging, both directly by exposition and indirectly through organization. The attitude may be summarized as thoughtful involvement, with both the plants and the places they grow. I've seen reviews of plant foraging books that are written as though the reviewer wishes to wander outside, grab a plant, look it up to see if it is edible, eat it or not, and then go on to something else. This is a recipe for a couple kinds of trouble. First, it is risky to collect plants without taking the time to learn about them; you can't just dive in and start eating stuff without learning both the plants you want to eat and something about the plants you don't want to eat. Spend some time with a plant guide or two just learning your way around plant in general. Second, careless harvesting can damage the plant populations and the plant habitats. Slow down a bit, let the caffeine wear off, and think about what you're doing. It makes a nice change. This book is a great guide.

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great book!

OUT OF THE 4 BOOKS THAT I OWN ON THE SUBJECT. THIS IS THE BEST GUIDE ON EDIBLE WILD PLANTS THAT I HAVE READ.DON'T LET THE FACT THAT THERE ARE NO PHOTOS IN THE BOOK BE A CONCERN. THE DRAWINGS ARE EXCELLENT! EVERYTHING IS IN DETAIL WITH SIDE NOTES POINTING TO SPECIFIC PARTS, POISONIOUS LOOK A LIKES ARE MENTIONED AS WELL AS DETAILED DRAWINGS OF THEM. AT THE END, THERE ARE MANY GREAT RECIPES! BY THE WAY, CHECK OUT ONE OF THE HIKES IF YOUR IN THE TRI-STATE AREA (CONN NY NJ) WILDMAN HIMSELF GIVES A WALK AND A LECTURE FROM MAR-DEC. CHECK OUT HIS WEBSITE http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/
HAPPY FORAGING!

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Indispensable

If you've never foraged before this is a great book to start with. I thought the layout of this book was wonderful. By putting the plants in order of season they are "ready" gets the forager more in tune to the rhtymns of the plants. Also,
he includes details on which ecosystems contain which plants. And unlike other ID books, this one is readable. I enjoyed reading about the plants in a narrative form instead of lists of uses, places where found etc.. The drawings are wonderful, but anyone considering foraging should always have a cross reference. This will give you a good excuse to by an ID book with color pictures.

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Where is Evelyn Dean's name?

Since having attended a fascinating lecture by the talented co-author Evelyn Dean, I decided to buy this book. I was shocked to see that the co-author's name did not appear on your web site. Please include her name as it's absence may affect the sales of the book. She continues to lecture and promote her book, and many people know the book because of her work. It is a great book, and I highly recommend it.

Slightly Disappointed

On the whole, this book is interesting and informative, but I was slightly disappointed with the logical layout. The information in the book is fairly detailed and interesting, but is presented in a narrative manner. The book takes a season/habitat based approach... I guess I was expecting a more trait-based heirarchical listing system. Something that would facilitate taking an unknown plant and quickly looking up the answers to "what is it? is it edible? is it medicinal? if so, what are the details"

The approach also tends to give details on a few interesting / especially good flavored or nutricious plants and then gives a names-only grocery list of "Edible and medicinal plants" and then one of "For Observation only"

So, in summary, if you know a bit about general plant identification and your focus is on what's available for the season and habitat, this book is a valuable resource, but if you're looking for a field identification and classification tool, this is probably not the best choice.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7

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