Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs
A Beginner’s Guide
By Rosemary Gladstar
Storey Publishing 2012
Teas and plants have always been a part of my life.
As a child my mom would encourage me to drink a warm cup of tea every time I was sick. In high school choir a sore throat always required warm lemon water with honey.
I am always picking up new books, especially if they are aromatherapy or herb related. Just based on the cover I knew this would be a good book to add to my growing herbal library.
This book is filled with lots of pictures to enhance the learning experience. Also, I knew any book written by Rosemary Gladstar would be filled with an abundance of good information.
If you are new to herbal medicine the beginning of the book describes what herbal medicine is and how you can benefit. There is also a good section on the variety of ways to utilize the plants from making tea to creating salves, just to name a few. Rosemary works to keep things simple. Many of the recipes go back to the idea of simple measurements. Although there are recommendations for ounce measurements if you are using a kitchen spoon that is okay.
This book shares information on 33 herbs and spices. Some of the recipes may be familiar like the well-known fire cider. Some could be completely new.
A plant that I hadn’t considered until reading this is nettle (stinging nettle). Many people shy away from nettle for good reason due to the plants protective sting. Nettle though has some incredible healing properties helping with things like gout and hay fever. Most interesting to me though was learning that it was used to manufacture cloth and was said to be finer than cotton or linen (pg. 175).
The other benefit of this book is the recipes that are provided along with each plant. For beginners that is a great option for learning ways to use unfamiliar plants. For seasoned users maybe there is a new recipe for you.
If you are considering using herbs to support your health this book provides an easy introduction to start.
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