Hatfield's Herbal is the story of how people all over Britain have used its wild plants throughout history, for reasons magical, mystical and medicinal. Gabrielle Hatfield has drawn on a lifetime's knowledge to describe the properties of over 150 native plants, and the customs that surround them: from predicting the weather with seaweed to using deadly nightshade to make ladies' pupils dilate appealingly, and from ensuring a husband's faithfulness with butterbur to warding off witches by planting a rowan tree. Filled with stories, folklore and remedies both strange and practical, this is a memorable and eye-opening guide to the richness of Britain's heritage.

From ivy wreathed buildings to the dandelions growing through the cracks between paving stones, we are surrounded by a wealth of native plants. In the past they were a hugely valued resource: magical, mystical and medical. Puppies were once fed daisy flowers in milk to keep them small while children wore daisy chains to protect against fairy kidnapping. Poachers scattered mullein seed on the surface of the water to drug fish. In the flu epidemic of 1918 many Irish people carried wild garlic in their pockets to avoid infection. Packed with stories and memorable information, this book is the highly personal, very readable result of a lifetime spent researching folk cures and the science behind them. Outlining the history and uses of over 150 British plants, Hatfield's Herbal offers a fascinating history of what life was once like, a beautifully illustrated, evocative guide to our native plants and a passionate argument why we should better appreciate the riches we already have.

The debt medicine owes to botany is not commonly appreciated. In the past, medicine relied almost entirely on plants, and even today, many western medicines are plant derived. Despite this, historians have largely neglected the study of domestic medicine, practised by the ordinary person and passed down through generations, in favour of 'official medicine'. The History of Domestic Plant Medicine brings together manuscripts, letters, diaries, personal oral interviews and other primary evidence to produce a detailed picture of the medicinal use of native plants in Britain from 1700 to the present day. Recording for posterity this neglected aspect of our heritage, it is a valuable contribution to the study of the folklore of modern Britain and a fascinating piece of social history.

The author gathers together a wealth of material from mmanuscripts, letters, diaries and personal interviews which collectively reveal a detailed picture of the use of domestic remedies in Britain.

A guide to 60 useful herbs and their use for common disorders specific to different age groups. Each herb is shown and its main therapeutic uses explained.

"Detailed, sometimes unusual discussions of remedies from the animal, vegetable, and mineral worlds identify a surprising number of overlaps between practical medicine, magic, and myth. Accessing the work through both agents used and ailments treated, students, folklorists, anthropologists, and those interested in the history of medicine will deepen their understanding of every aspect of folk medicine."--BOOK JACKET.