With updated production techniques for home and commercial cultivation, detailed growth parameters for 31 mushroom species, a trouble-shooting guide, and handy gardening tips, this revised and updated handbook will make your mycological landscapes the envy of the neighborhood.

    35,000 first printing.

    Aspirin, the world's most widely used drug, is based on compounds originally extracted from the bark of a willow tree, and more than a quarter of medicines found on pharmacy shelves contain plant compounds. Now Western medicine, faced with health crises such as AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer, has begun to look to the healing plants used by indigenous peoples to develop powerful new medicines. Nowhere is the search more promising than in the Amazon, the world's largest tropical forest, home to a quarter of all botanical species on this planet—as well as hundreds of Indian tribes whose medicinal plants have never been studied by Western scientists. In Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice, ethnobotanist Mark J. Plotkin recounts his travels and studies with some of the most powerful Amazonian shamans, who taught him the plant lore their tribes have spent thousands of years gleaning from the rain forest.For more than a decade, Dr. Plotkin has raced against time to harvest and record new plants before the rain forests' fragile ecosystems succumb to overdevelopment—and before the Indians abandon their own culture and learning for the seductive appeal of Western material culture. Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice relates nine of the author's quests, taking the reader along on a wild odyssey as he participates in healing rituals; discovers the secret of curare, the lethal arrow poison that kills in minutes; tries the hallucinogenic snuff epena that enables the Indians to speak with their spirit world; and earns the respect and fellowship of the mysterious shamans as he proves that he shares both their endurance and their reverence for the rain forest. Mark Plotkin combines the Darwinian spirit of the great writer-explorers of the nineteenth century—curious, discursive, and rigorously scientific—with a very modern concern for the erosion of our environment and the vanishing culture of native peoples.

    These botanical heirlooms, such as flowering almond, blackberry lily, and night-blooming cereus, usually can't be found in neighborhood garden centers; about the only way to obtain a passalong plant is to beg a cutting from the fortunate gardener who has one. In this lively and sometimes irreverent book (don't miss the chapter on yard art), Steve Bender and Felder Rushing describe 117 such plants, giving particulars on hardiness, size, uses in the garden, and horticultural requirements. They present this information in the informal, chatty, and sometimes humorous manner that your next-door neighbor might use when giving you a cutting of her treasured Confederate rose. And, of course, because they are discussing passalong plants, they note the best method of sharing each plant with other gardeners. Because you might not spy a banana shrub or sweet pea in your neighborhood, the authors list mail-order sources for the heirloom plants described. They also give tips on how to organize your own plant swap. Although the authors live in and write about the South, many of the plants they discuss will grow elsewhere. from the book Amid the clamor of press releases touting the newest, improved versions of this bulb or that perennial, what keeps people interested in old-fashioned plants? Nostalgia, for one thing. It's hard not to feel a special fondness for that Confederate rose, night-blooming cereus, or alstroemeria lovingly tended by your grandmother when you were a child. Such heirloom plants evoke memories of your first garden, of relatives and neighbors that have since passed on, of prized bushes you accidentally annihilated with your bicycle. Recall the time you first received a particular plant, and you'll recall the person who gave it to you.

    Since that time, hundreds of new species have been identified and botanical investigation has become more sophisticated. Now Jepson's philosophy of making such information available to all is again realized in this new volume, which includes a wealth of material accumulated over the past decades.With contributions from two hundred botanists across North America, this is the most comprehensive resource and identification guide to nearly eight thousand varieties of native and naturalized California plants. The means to identify plants (using key traits and illustrations) is accompanied by special information such as horticultural requirements, endangerment, toxicity, weed status, and notes on the management of sensitive species. Identification keys have been designed for ease of use, and terms have been simplified and illustrated, making the new Manual the most authoritative field guide for the expert and amateur alike.

    Winner of the 1992 Benjamin Franklin Award for best "Regional" book, this title continues to be the definitive popular guide to California's most emblematic tree species.

    When Stein realized what her intensive efforts at making a garden had done, she set out to "ungarden". Her book interweaves an account of her efforts with an explanation of the ecology of gardens. Illustrations.

    This complete guide to understanding and improving the soil shows how to begin the process with easy-to-find organic materials. Includes testing soil, making compost, what plants to grow where, container gardening, how to tailor soil to fit the needs of individual plants, and much more. 75 illustrations.

    Based on the author's many years of experience, The Perelandra Garden Workbook is filled with practical techniques, fresh perspectives on traditional organic gardening methods, and an infectious sense of joy and humor. Interspersed throughout this book are many direct communications from the different levels of nature intelligence. Each reveal universal natural law and a cosmic wisdom applicable not only to gardens dug in soil, but to every garden planted in the larger soil of life experience. Truly, a book for everyone seeking to connect into the larger picture of life.

    Suggests herbal remedies for a variety of ailments, including hypertension, insomnia, bronchitis, varicose veins, and arthritis.

    Ill. (pb), and spread sheet. Card size 2 3/4" x 4 3/4".

    Includes transparent overlays.

    Exploring plants and flowers as the raw material of the gardener's talent, she examines the relationship between ideas and the availability of certain plants. She also discusses how diverse garden designs reflect different ages and cultures, describing how, in Renaissance Europe, new bulbs and tubers were valued (and used) like works of art, and how the horticultural jewels of the New World were produced by designers backed by enormous wealth. Filled with color & b&w prints, illustrations, & photographs. 10" x 10".

    Flower essences are safe and powerful catalysts that anyone can use. Not only do they bring clarity to the conscious mind and develop many intuitive abilities, but they also resolve negative beliefs and directly affect us at the level where we make decisions about our emotions, health, vitality and relationships. Flower essences unlock our inherent positive qualities such as love, courage and joy. Naturopath Ian White has taken this age-old study and applied it to the flowering plants of the Australian bush, showing that the energy and power in the ancient lands of Australia are manifested in the healing properties of its plants. In Australian Bush Flower Essences, he gives an informative yet personal picture of fifty bush flower essences from all over the country, as well as detailed information about their preparation and use in all areas of healing. He also provides a bibliography of important works about natural healing and an index of illnesses and their treatment. Fully illustrated, Australian Bush Flower Essences is the most comprehensive and farreaching book yet written about this important modality. It is designed to allow anyone to feel competent and confident in using these essences to bring about health, harmony and well-being. IanWhite is a highly respected practitioner and teacher of naturopathy and kinesiology. His family have been natural health practitioners specializing in herbal medicine for five generations. www.ausflowers.com.au

    Ginger, says the author, will help one to recover from motion sickness, and it wards off the build-up of cholesterol; plantain leaves can be applied to wounds; hemp fights migraines. Then, of course, there is the lotus, both real and mythical in power, and a central symbol in kundalini yoga: while various potions can be wrung from it, its beauty alone is ``considered a medicine.'' The mango, too, has many purposes: the twigs can serve as ``antiseptic'' toothbrushes, while the seeds successfully thwart dysentery. Sandalwood paste can ``tranquilize a believer''; drunken, it will soothe ulcers. This lore is copious and well told, and the pictures, commissioned by Patnaik from eight Indian artists ``to reflect a cross section of Indian art,'' are outstanding: delicate yet lush, they seem to ease pain, too. (Nov.)

    It covers Portugal, Spain, France, Corsica, Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, the Balkans, Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco - in all over 2500 plant species are described. Introductory chapters cover the general ecology and climate of the region, and describe the structure of the book and how to use it. Illustrated by renowned botanical artist Marjorie Blamey, and written by leading field botanist Christopher Grey-Wilson, this field guide will enable anyone to identify the wild plants found in this lovely and diverse region.

    An information-packed guide designed to help gardeners escape the dismal, colorless days of winter and the pervasive all-green days of summer. 68 illus. 10 color photos.

    Although its emphasis is on plants of Northeastern North America, many of the plants listed are found throughout the world.Helpful introductory chapters on equipment, mordants, dyeing procedures and other essentials, are followed by individual plants: its suitability for dyeing, useful parts, how to process them, colors, dye fastness, plant identification, where to find it, and more. Also include four valuable indexes — plants by common name, botanical name, by colors produced, and a general index. A list of suppliers, metric conversion tables and other information rounds out this thorough guide to safe, ecologically sound dyeing methods.

    Even such familiar “weeds” as the dandelion have their palliative uses. This informative coloring book, featuring 44 accurate drawings by botanical illustrator Ilil Arbel, focuses on such medicinal plants from around the world as foxglove, belladonna, mayapple, valerian, dandelion, chamomile, quinine, arnica, burdock, tamarind, lobelia, and many more. Each illustration is accompanied by an informative caption outlining the plant's coloration and physical characteristics, geographic distribution, and medicinal uses. Invaluable as an identification guide and pictorial reference, this volume will appeal to colorists of all ages as well as to artists and crafters in need of royalty-free plant illustrations.

    Highlights of this new edition include seven new garden designs by well-known landscape artists from around the country; over 75 new encyclopedia entries, with hundreds of new plants added; and three new chapters: Perennial Flower Finder, Perennial Combinations, and Growing with the Design. The result is a winning mix of information and inspiration-and beautiful color photographs-to take one's dream garden from concept to reality.

    -- For backyard gardeners or serious naturalists-- A complete source for information about which plants grow best in nearshore environments-- Characteristics of each plant, including form, flower and fruit date, geographic distribution, habitat, reproduction, and propagation-- Ornamental, medicinal, toxic, physical, edible, and ecological aspects of each plant, covering modern uses and folkloric beliefs

    This book describes a new way of using perennials in parks and gardens based on ecological rather then purely aesthetic principles. It demonstrates how attention to ecological needs of herbaceous perennials can result in low maintenance plantings in parks and other public spaces. The entire field of ornamental perennials is described with the main emphasis upon the ecological nature of the plant rather than the usual height, flowering sense and colour descriptions. Most of the current perennials available from nurseries are categorised according to the conditions in which they are most likely to thrive in the face of competition from other plants and weeds. These lists in particular are an indispensable work of reference for any gardener or landscape architect interested in the use of perennials. This is a translation of the classic fourth edition of the German book Die Stauden und ihre Lebensbereiche published in 1991.

    Starting with the first plants ready for eating in the early spring (watercress and nettles) and following the sequence of harvest through the late fall (persim-mons and Jerusalem artichokes), Kay Young offers full, easy-to-follow directions for identifying, gathering, and preparing some four dozen edible wild plants of the Great Plains. And since most of the plants occur elsewhere as well, residents of other regions will find much of interest here. 'This is not a survival book," writes the author; "only those plants whose flavor and availability warrant the time and effort to collect or grow them are included." The nearly 250 recipes range from old-time favorites (poke sallet; catnip tea; horehound lozenges; hickory nut cake; a cupboardful of jams, jellies, and pies) to enticing new creations (wild violet salad, milkweed sandwiches, cattail pollen pancakes, day-lily hors d'oeuvres, prickly-pear cactus relish). Reflecting the author's conviction that just as we can never go back to subsisting wholly on wild things, neither should we exclude them from our lives, this book serves up generous portions of botanical information and ecological wisdom along with good food.