Secrets and Virtues of Medicinal Plants

One of the most comprehensive works in the field of medicinal plants and their application. Profusely illustrated with photographs and technical colour illustrations.

CONTENTS:
The realm of simples
– Medicinal plants;
– The plant factory;
– Identify, harvest, preserve;
Guide to plants to know
– Wild plants;
– Cultivated plants;
– Toxic plants;
– Exotic plants;
The benefits of plants
– The use of simples;
– Health dictionary;
– Veterinary uses;
Glossary
"(...) This work, which does not intend to replace traditional medicine, was produced under the guidance of specialised authors who were able to make their profound knowledge in the fields of botany and pharmacognosy accessible and available to the general public. It explains the real possibilities of medicinal plants, encourages their harvesting in their natural environment, and at the same time debunks the pseudoscientific speculations that overshadow the serious dissemination of herbal medicine. The identification and harvesting of suitable plants constitute a primary problem. To solve it, high-quality illustrations and detailed morphological descriptions were used, allowing the distinction between beneficial, neutral, and harmful species. To offer exact maps with the location of harvesting sites for each plant would be an unachievable ambition; however, the reader will find descriptions of the characteristic habitats of the different species. The work also indicates when and at what time wild and cultivated plants should be harvested and what their useful parts are. And, once harvested and prepared, it teaches how to preserve plant substances with medicinal properties. Less careful attitudes regarding harvesting and preparation and less prudent ones regarding dosage can lead to risks that should be avoided, so that, instead of benefits for health and well-being, harm is not incurred. (...)" From the introductory text To the Reader.