The New Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses

1. The New Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses Dewey E. McLaughlin Spring ~ 2008

2. MLA: Brown, Deni. New Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses. New York, NY.: DK Adult, 2001 • Call Number: 581.6303 • Physical Format(s): Hardbound Book; 448 pg Ill.(color photo)

3. Arrangement • Herbs Through the Ages, Herbs in the Wild, Using Herbs, Cultivating Herbs, Designing an Herb Garden, Alphabetic A-Z of Herbs(over 1000 w/1500 photographs) in order of Genus.

4. Indexing • Table of Contents, Glossary of Terms, a Quick Index of Common Names and Subject Index

5. Scope • This book covers 1000+ Herbs from around the World (N. C. & S. America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, China & Neighbors, SE Asia and Australia.), but mainly focuses on North American Herbs. It has detailed descriptions of each herb with explanations of their uses for Culinary, Medicinal and/or Cosmetic purposes. It also tells you how to cultivate them, what parts are used and most important, where they can grow.

7. Currency • This Book is 7 years old and is one of the newest herb books that has come out. Every year more and more information is being added to new plants or finding new uses for old well known plants. Especially with the increased demand for N D's (Naturopathic Doctors) and organic foods that are high in nutrients. Any book on this subject would become mostly obsolete rather quickly. On-line Journals and Herbalist Magazines can keep you more up to date, but this book is a good starting place for general knowledge.

8. Intended Purpose • (From the book) This spectacular beautifully illustrated book is a users guide and owner's manual to the global culture of herbs: a history of the age-old relationship between people and plants, and a updated catalog of the best our planet has to offer. • Additional Purposes Served: This book can be used as a reference guide for gardeners, cooks, landscapers, midwives and N D's. Also, just about anyone who is interested in plants

9. Special features • Book List for Further Reading, and a List of Public Herb Gardens in North America

10. Authority or credentials of issuing body or authors • Deni Brown has been a gardener and botanist all her life, starting with a childhood fascination with her grandfather's lilies and tulips and a passion for finding and identifying wildflowers. After a varied career in horticulture, Deni Brown became a freelance botanical and horticultural writer and photographer and was a winner in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in 1986. Her first book, Aroids-Plants of the Arum Family, is a standard work on that family, and she won a Garden Writers' Association of American Award in 1990 for Alba-The Book of White Flowers. Deni Brown lectures widely and has made television and radio broadcasts about her work. Renowned as a lone traveler, she has trekked into remote parts of the world in search of unusual plants.

11. Personal impression • This book is great, and as a herbalist hobbyist I end up going down to the library and looking up plants that I'm studying and 9 times out of 10, the information I need is in this book. Its a great Starting point for herb research. The other DK Herb Books specialize things even further Like “The Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine”.

12. Examples typifying reference uses • Someone gives me a bush clipping from what they call “Black Currant”and before I add it to my garden I'd like to know more about it. Is it poisonous? It sounds like it with a name like that. Black Current is a common name so the first place I need to look is the back of the book for the index of common names. I find that Black Currant is actuly one word “Blackcurrant” and its Genus is Ribes nigrum on page 345. so I flip to 345 and I'm able to read some history of the plant, how its cultivated and what its uses are.

15. Examples typifying reference uses (cont.) • It says its mainly found in Europe. Its leaves can be used in teas and the black berries can be used to make jams, jellies, syrup and cordials, its also used to flavor wine vinegar. So it is edible and sounds like it would make a good introduction to my garden...but wait there is mentioning of the United states...Its says “..It is less common in the USA because it hosts Pine Blister Rust (Cronartium ribicola), which can devastate forests. So, before I decide to add it to my garden, I need to find another source…

16. Web Search • Doing a Google search, I find a WSU research paper that tells me much of the same information that the book tells me, which only reconfirms the details of the information. It also mentions the susceptibilities of it hosting pine blister rust. But, it does not tell me whether or not there are any legal issues on the planting of blackcurrant in the state of Washington. <http://www.island.wsu.edu/CROPS/EUROPEAN.htm>

17. Web Search (Cont.) • Another web site explains that Ribes was illegal in the US between 1918-1968 but since then many states have lifted the ban, including Washington. “There is no restriction in the state of Washington. Some ribes (currants and gooseberries) are susceptible to and are alternate hosts to White Pine Blister Rust, that has been the basis for restrictions. In the Pacific Northwest Blister Rust is endemic and there are so many wild ribes that restriction of cultivated plants probably makes no difference one way or the other.Most of Washington State is very conducive to growing currants and gooseberries and they are grown commercially in some places. Black currants are gaining popularity, but are nor readily available.” <http://www.luvnpeas.org/edibility/edibleArticles/Ribes.html> • Knowing this, I can safely plant the bush in my back yard.

18. ~Fin~ S2008DM