Medicinal Herbs of California: A Field Guide to Common Healing Plants

by Lanny Kaufer

Medicinal Herbs of California is the first statewide field guide to more than 70 common medicinal plants of California. This vital addition to the California naturalist’s shelf will introduce readers to the principles of herbal remedies, history and roots in native cultures, scientific information, and how to find and incorporate medicinal plants into daily life. Inside you’ll

Photos and descriptions to help with positive identificationCommon and scientific names and the plant familiesConservation statusModern and traditional usesThe science behind natural phytochemicals that have earned these plants a place in Native American medicine for thousands of years.

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 30, 2021

Reviews

[Valerie Ishida · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful guide with color images for plant identification and usage. Each herb entry includes habitat and range; conservation status; uses and edibility; traditional, tribal usage; modern usage including tribal, western medicine, acupuncture and Ayurvedic; cultivation notes, and the pythochemicals/mechanism of action. The book also includes collection and preparation instructions and 20 pages of recipes for herbal teas, salves, soaks, and the like. Loved hearing the perspective of historical, whole herb usage and about the effect of the modern pharmaceutical industry on the definition of what a drug is. This guide is very handy for California plant and outdoor enthusiasts, and adds a new level of fun to the next nature plant-spotting hike.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty decent book about the local California flora and the medicinal uses in both indigenous medicine and Western medicine. I dislike that it includes non-native/invasive species and the uses of those non-native species from their native areas, even though those invasive species are now prevalent in California. I would have liked more details about how to prepare/store the flora once found.

[Sophie]

So informative. Love the mechanism of action section. Very well cited. Can’t wait to try some of the recipes! Will inform my garden additions too. Thank you!