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Mountain States Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 100 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness
“A practical guide to using medicinal herbs as well as a powerful reminder of our reciprocal relationship with the natural world.” —Rosalee de la Forêt, author of Alchemy of Herbs
In Mountain States Medicinal Plants , Briana Wiles is your trusted guide to finding, identifying, harvesting, and using 120 of the region’s most powerful wild plants. You’ll learn how to safely and ethically forage and how to use wild plants in herbal medicines including teas, tinctures, and salves. Plant profiles include clear, color photographs, identification tips, medicinal uses and herbal preparations, and harvesting suggestions. Lists of what to forage for each season makes the guide useful year-round. Thorough, comprehensive, and safe, this is a must-have for foragers, naturalists, and herbalists in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and northern Nevada.
In Mountain States Medicinal Plants , Briana Wiles is your trusted guide to finding, identifying, harvesting, and using 120 of the region’s most powerful wild plants. You’ll learn how to safely and ethically forage and how to use wild plants in herbal medicines including teas, tinctures, and salves. Plant profiles include clear, color photographs, identification tips, medicinal uses and herbal preparations, and harvesting suggestions. Lists of what to forage for each season makes the guide useful year-round. Thorough, comprehensive, and safe, this is a must-have for foragers, naturalists, and herbalists in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and northern Nevada.
296 pages, Paperback
Published March 7, 2018
30 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 19, 2017
With a slant toward the plants found in the western mountainous regions of North America, this book is a great resource to identifying, harvesting, wildcrafting, and using botanicals. The author is a wildcrafter and lecturer who owns Rooted Apothecary in Crested Butte, Colorado. The included plants and instructions are by no means limited to the western states, as the useful plants and instructions are found in wide areas of North America.
The book is broken down into sections and begins with an introduction 'Wildcrafting your medicine', followed by 'Timing your harvest: A guide to seasonal wildcrafting'
The meat of the book is taken up with an ID guide to 101 different (by my count) wild plants. The pictures are extensive and specific. Dangerous look-alikes are covered quite well with ample photograps and descriptions and cautions.
The book has a charmingly sweet vibe (ask permission of the plants you want to harvest and when many of them say 'No', respect that and move along). Is it a little bit 'woo/new age/neohippy'? Yes, however... We live in a world that has firmly embraced the idea that profit and personal gain is a worthy goal and the sacrifice and pillage of our environment and our planet is the natural order of things. Humans are doing irreparable damage with blatant disregard. A little respect and restraint toward our earth is wonderfully refreshing (and vitally important).
If you look at the trend in medicines and cosmetics today, every possible company (some of them incredibly disreputable) tout 'back to nature' and 'natural ingredients'. What better way to know what's in the products you put in and on your body than to gather and control the ingredients, and make the final product yourself. Included are recipes for various decoctions, soaks, salves, syrups, teas and other items.
I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it. The finished products are well crafted (if one follows instructions!) and gentle and not harmful. Cautions about use specific herbs under specific conditions (pregnancy etc) are sensible and reasonable.
As a bonus, there are photos of the author's own apothecary jars and some small interior shots of her shop. Beautifully organized and traditional, the jars and labels are beautiful. I would love to visit the shop sometime.
The book ends with a resource and references section.
A good book for wildcrafting, beautifully made.
Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
The book is broken down into sections and begins with an introduction 'Wildcrafting your medicine', followed by 'Timing your harvest: A guide to seasonal wildcrafting'
The meat of the book is taken up with an ID guide to 101 different (by my count) wild plants. The pictures are extensive and specific. Dangerous look-alikes are covered quite well with ample photograps and descriptions and cautions.
The book has a charmingly sweet vibe (ask permission of the plants you want to harvest and when many of them say 'No', respect that and move along). Is it a little bit 'woo/new age/neohippy'? Yes, however... We live in a world that has firmly embraced the idea that profit and personal gain is a worthy goal and the sacrifice and pillage of our environment and our planet is the natural order of things. Humans are doing irreparable damage with blatant disregard. A little respect and restraint toward our earth is wonderfully refreshing (and vitally important).
If you look at the trend in medicines and cosmetics today, every possible company (some of them incredibly disreputable) tout 'back to nature' and 'natural ingredients'. What better way to know what's in the products you put in and on your body than to gather and control the ingredients, and make the final product yourself. Included are recipes for various decoctions, soaks, salves, syrups, teas and other items.
I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it. The finished products are well crafted (if one follows instructions!) and gentle and not harmful. Cautions about use specific herbs under specific conditions (pregnancy etc) are sensible and reasonable.
As a bonus, there are photos of the author's own apothecary jars and some small interior shots of her shop. Beautifully organized and traditional, the jars and labels are beautiful. I would love to visit the shop sometime.
The book ends with a resource and references section.
A good book for wildcrafting, beautifully made.
Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
August 24, 2018
Briana Wiles’ Mountain States Medicinal Plants is a gorgeous book featuring beautiful photography of one hundred medicinal plants, with accompanying text outlining how to identify, harvest, and utilize each species. Text for identification seems vague for many species, which is understandable due to the challenge of describing any plant accurately for easy identification. As with many field guides, the photos are essential to proper identification.
Being familiar with most of the plants, I went straight to the medicinal uses of each species, reading Briana’s suggested uses for a fresh look at plants I’ve long known. The book includes instructions for herbal preparations such as decoctions, infusions, vinegar and honey oxymels, alcohol extractions, and more. I loved Briana’s suggestions for combining herbs for smudge bundles, such as sagebrush, sweetclover, and sticky gum plant. I’ll have to try that!
I’ve been fortunate to enjoy good health most of my adult life, yet now that I’m older and facing various ligament and cartilage issues, I found myself drawn to Briana’s recommendations for plants like horsetail and Solomon’s plume to strengthen overworked body hardware.
Reading Mountain State Medicinal Plants rekindled a latent interest in herbalism that has been neglected while focusing on other specialties. The book also includes notes on the ever-essential need to conserve species, directing readers to pay special attention to species that could potentially be impacted by harvesting. This is a great addition to the library for anyone interested in medicinal herbs of the mountain states.
--Thomas J. Elpel, author
Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification
Being familiar with most of the plants, I went straight to the medicinal uses of each species, reading Briana’s suggested uses for a fresh look at plants I’ve long known. The book includes instructions for herbal preparations such as decoctions, infusions, vinegar and honey oxymels, alcohol extractions, and more. I loved Briana’s suggestions for combining herbs for smudge bundles, such as sagebrush, sweetclover, and sticky gum plant. I’ll have to try that!
I’ve been fortunate to enjoy good health most of my adult life, yet now that I’m older and facing various ligament and cartilage issues, I found myself drawn to Briana’s recommendations for plants like horsetail and Solomon’s plume to strengthen overworked body hardware.
Reading Mountain State Medicinal Plants rekindled a latent interest in herbalism that has been neglected while focusing on other specialties. The book also includes notes on the ever-essential need to conserve species, directing readers to pay special attention to species that could potentially be impacted by harvesting. This is a great addition to the library for anyone interested in medicinal herbs of the mountain states.
--Thomas J. Elpel, author
Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification
August 17, 2017
Mountain States Medicinal Plants by Briana Wiles
March 2018
Non-fiction, health
I received this digital ARC from Timber Press/NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Although the author provides specific information regarding Mountain State medicinal plants, these plants are grown in other regions of the country. She provides extensive information regarding each plant as well as suggested "recipes" for use. It is evident that the author is very knowledgeable in this area and thus a reliable source on medicinal plants.
The format of the book is extremely user friendly and organized. The pictures display the plants beautifully in their natural state. I particularly appreciate that the author goes to great lengths to include a "How to Identify" section for each plant. It is also worthy to note that she provides beneficial information regarding the proper identification to avoid poisonous plants. I honestly never imagined all the plants she has covered in this book as being anything more than a weed!
Being a holistic health coach, I am very interested in natural remedies for common ailments. This book is far more than I expected in regards to the content. I would recommend this book to those interested in medicinal plants and holistic healing. There's a lot of information to be absorbed for the nature enthusiast. This book isn't for the weekend gardener!
March 2018
Non-fiction, health
I received this digital ARC from Timber Press/NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Although the author provides specific information regarding Mountain State medicinal plants, these plants are grown in other regions of the country. She provides extensive information regarding each plant as well as suggested "recipes" for use. It is evident that the author is very knowledgeable in this area and thus a reliable source on medicinal plants.
The format of the book is extremely user friendly and organized. The pictures display the plants beautifully in their natural state. I particularly appreciate that the author goes to great lengths to include a "How to Identify" section for each plant. It is also worthy to note that she provides beneficial information regarding the proper identification to avoid poisonous plants. I honestly never imagined all the plants she has covered in this book as being anything more than a weed!
Being a holistic health coach, I am very interested in natural remedies for common ailments. This book is far more than I expected in regards to the content. I would recommend this book to those interested in medicinal plants and holistic healing. There's a lot of information to be absorbed for the nature enthusiast. This book isn't for the weekend gardener!
September 10, 2017
Interesting book with lots of good information. Beautiful pictures. I have studied plants in our area of Upstate NY for a long time so I'm pretty picky when it comes to a book like this. I think it's very well written. While I think that you need to be very careful, I feel we could be using more plants to heal and keep us healthy. It was the original medicine after all. You do have to be very careful to make sure that you properly identify the plant you harvest, and prepare it correctly as well. With some plants only certain parts are good to use – other parts of the same plant can poison you. This book has information for plants in the mountain states and puts it right at your fingertips.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa....
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa....
December 5, 2017
I received this book, for free, in exchange for an honest review.
This book does exactly what it says on the tin. It goes into great detail regarding both wildcrafting and herbal preparations. For example, it details where/when to find wild herbs and how to avoid poisonous look-alikes. In terms of herbal preparations, each monograph contains information on how to prepare the herb listing decoctions, poultices and other appropriate preparations. The book also has excellent cautionary information. The only down side is that it does not break out herbal actions and constituents particularly well.
I'd estimate that, being outside the mountain region, I am only familiar with 25-35% of the herbs. This compares to 50% or so familiarity in a non-region specific book on western herbalism. So while this is more useful to those in the titular region, the herbs are fairly common (especially compared to TCM or southwestern herbs which seem harder to come at a whole foods,vitamin shoppe,Tom's Nature Shack and Granola-ery, etc.).
This book does exactly what it says on the tin. It goes into great detail regarding both wildcrafting and herbal preparations. For example, it details where/when to find wild herbs and how to avoid poisonous look-alikes. In terms of herbal preparations, each monograph contains information on how to prepare the herb listing decoctions, poultices and other appropriate preparations. The book also has excellent cautionary information. The only down side is that it does not break out herbal actions and constituents particularly well.
I'd estimate that, being outside the mountain region, I am only familiar with 25-35% of the herbs. This compares to 50% or so familiarity in a non-region specific book on western herbalism. So while this is more useful to those in the titular region, the herbs are fairly common (especially compared to TCM or southwestern herbs which seem harder to come at a whole foods,vitamin shoppe,Tom's Nature Shack and Granola-ery, etc.).
February 17, 2018
From Netgalley for review
Oh man, I am sad I live outside the region this books covers since this is one of the best regional specific herbal foraging books I have run into! I really especially like how it mentioned look-alike plants that could easily confused, guides to how to forage without possibly ruining the plant (or like with alfalfa a weed to just go wild and take as much as you need) for future uses, and clear warnings of plants to not take internally or ones that will cause problems when used incorrectly. Also it seemed the herbalism presented in this book was based pretty heavily on TCM since it talks a lot about plants being warming or cooling which is something I don't run into a ton with western herbalism.
This is a great book on foraging and herbalism, definitely recommend even if you don't live in the region because a lot of these plants grow outside of the mountain states.
Oh man, I am sad I live outside the region this books covers since this is one of the best regional specific herbal foraging books I have run into! I really especially like how it mentioned look-alike plants that could easily confused, guides to how to forage without possibly ruining the plant (or like with alfalfa a weed to just go wild and take as much as you need) for future uses, and clear warnings of plants to not take internally or ones that will cause problems when used incorrectly. Also it seemed the herbalism presented in this book was based pretty heavily on TCM since it talks a lot about plants being warming or cooling which is something I don't run into a ton with western herbalism.
This is a great book on foraging and herbalism, definitely recommend even if you don't live in the region because a lot of these plants grow outside of the mountain states.
October 3, 2017
I loved this book! Even though I grew up in the Mountain States, I did was not into medicinal plants when I lived there. So the first section in this book, Timing Your Harvest, was very helpful for me. It broke the information down into the four seasons & then where you would typically find the plants. The next section was about each plant. It gave you the parts to use; how to identify; where, when & how to wildcraft; medicinal uses and future harvest information, along with pictures. Just to note that several of the plants do grow in other areas around the US. If you live in the Mountain States or are going to visit & you love medicinal plants, then I would highly recommend this book!
August 25, 2017
Since I live in this region I found this a really informative book on wild harvesting herbs with plenty of information about the different herbs as well as the many types of preparation they can be used in. If you are interested in wildcrafting for your herbs this is a must have for this large region.This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan
August 28, 2020
A new favorite foraging/medicinals book! One of the best elements, and one I’ve not seen in wild herbalism books so far, is the included instructions on how to promote growth of each herb for future harvest. I really appreciated this added knowledge on properly and ethically harvesting with the longevity of the plant in mind.
I would have liked to see some acknowledgement toward indigenous use of sacred plants and some respect for that- particularly as the book includes sweetgrass and a few other plants whose use and appreciation belongs in many ways to sacred native medicine.
I would have liked to see some acknowledgement toward indigenous use of sacred plants and some respect for that- particularly as the book includes sweetgrass and a few other plants whose use and appreciation belongs in many ways to sacred native medicine.
August 12, 2017
We all know plants can be used to heal and be natural medicines.
This book includes types of plants with tips for harvesting alongside pictures and lists of times of the year that plants are ready for harvesting and subsequently, use. The book is good as a guide to learn from but always be wary that you are picking the right plant yourself!
A handy guide on a very different subject.
Many thank to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!
This book includes types of plants with tips for harvesting alongside pictures and lists of times of the year that plants are ready for harvesting and subsequently, use. The book is good as a guide to learn from but always be wary that you are picking the right plant yourself!
A handy guide on a very different subject.
Many thank to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!
May 21, 2023
If you're interested in foraging (or growing usable, native plants of your own) this is a great book for Mountain States dwellers. Will be buying for my growing gardening library. Wiles explains a lot about the plants, as well as traditional uses for them, and provides multiple recipes for each plant.
August 26, 2018
Absolutely amazing book! I am only beginning my journey into the realm of medicinal plants and via this book, I've already been able to identify and collect various herbs in the nearby mountain range. Huge recommendation for anyone curious about this.
December 30, 2018
I love this so much that I bought a physical and digital copy just so I can have it with me when I'm hiking. Although I'm familiar with many of my local plants and their uses, the author shares many uses that were new to me that have been fun to explore over the past year.
May 30, 2020
Can't wait to go for a hike and use this!
February 23, 2021
Will be taking this with me for camping and hikes! It's a great reference for identifying different plants.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2022
Wonderful book, very well written and informational.
February 14, 2018
Love, love, loved this book! Focused in my own back yard this is an amazing handbook for those wanting more natural medicinal options. I love that it has info on how, where, why and what for for each of the plants it discusses. This will be a go to in my home for sure!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews