Medicine of the Earth: Legends, Recipes, Remedies, and Cultivation of Healing Plants
Fischer-Rizzi lives in the German Alps and includes many stories of European, especially German, folklore and religious myths as well as pertinent excerpts from literary prose and poetry in what is decidedly not the usual herbal remedy book. After a preface conveying her general attitude toward plants and their growth and use, she considers 33 herbs at length. Each plant appears in several detailed and clear illustrations that accompany its common and scientific names, its botanical description and history, and some anecdotes about it. Practical information on cultivation, healing properties, and culinary, veterinary, and cosmetic uses as well as some recipes and a table of botanical characteristics round out each entry. Warnings are provided wherever necessary. References and an illustrated glossary conclude this attractive addition to herbal literature.William Beatty