The Western Herbal Tradition

The Western Herbal Tradition provides a comprehensive and critical exploration of the use of plant medicines through 2000 years of history from Dioscorides to the present day. It follows each of the 27 herbs through a wide range of key sources from European, Arabic and American traditions including Greek, Roman and Renaissance texts. A rich discussion of the historical texts is balanced with current application and research.

The herbs have been selected on the basis of common use by practising herbalists.

Each illustrated monograph contains:

Species, identification and botanical description

A study of the characterisation and medicinal use of the plants consistently drawn

from featured herbals which includes the authors’ own translations from the Latin

Assessment of past and current texts in the transmission of herbal knowledge

Consideration of traditional therapeutics, including humoral and physiomedical

approaches

Suggestions towards a modern experiential approach through Goethean methodology

Current evidence on pharmacological constituents

Review of evidence on safety

Recommendations for internal and external uses, prescribing and dosage

"The book reflects a profound appreciation of the full range of knowledge required to gain a detailed, accurate pharmacognostic picture of plant medicine: the 27 herbs surveyed are discussed with an exhaustive eye to historical, empirical and scientific detail."

The Institute of Traditional Herbal Medicine & Aromatherapy, November 2011

"This book seeks to address the lack of a coherent description of the history of Western herbal medicine from classical times up to the present day...this is an attractively presented book with line drawings and photographs of the plants and the authors have endeavoured to make the mass of information accessible and readable with summaries and subheadings, as well as a cross-referenced index...Overall, this book will be of interest to both herbal practitioners and historians and will surely become an essential text for students of herbal medicine...this book does make a covincing case for many continuities in traditional uses of medicinal plants which are consistent with our knowledge of materia medica today. Furthermore, the book makes a significant contribution in placing key textual elements of herbal history in relation to one another, and providing a framework to which further historical studies can be linked."

Journal of Herbal Medicine, December 2011