For over fifteen years I have experimented and explored the world of wild plants. Uncovering how our ancestors used plants to nourish and heal themselves. I've spent thousands of hours digging through scientific papers, read hundreds of books. Even gone so far as to be nomadic for over a year. During this time I followed the seasons and plants around the highways and byways of these isles. I have written this book to help you rediscover our forgotten plant heritage. To learn how to use wild plants as food and medicine. Knowledge that was once common to everyone. A NOTE ON PHOTOS Most wild flower books only provide one photo of each plant for identification. Then a little bit of botanical description. Usually using words that don't mean anything to anybody, unless you are a botany geek. To forage plants safely, you need a specialist plant identification book. Which is why in this book there are no pictures, nor a botanical profile. NICE THINGS PEOPLE HAVE PREVIOUSLY SAID Robin's infectious encyclopaedic enthusiasm is borne from complete commitment to his chosen field. - Michael Kusz You transported us to a whole new level of awareness of not only the plants we got to see, smell and taste, but also the relationship that is possible with our natural environment that most of us have lost over just a single generation. - Richard & Debbie Stansfield My love of the plants and my interaction with them was given a massive boost by your knowledge. - Pip Martin ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robin Harford is a plant-based forager, ethnobotanical researcher and wild food educator. He has published over 50 foraging guide books. He established his wild food foraging school in 2008, and his foraging courses were recently voted #1 in the country by BBC Countryfile. Robin is the creator of eatweeds.co.uk, which is listed in The Times Top 50 websites for food and drink. He has travelled extensively documenting and recording the traditional and local uses of wild food plants in indigenous cultures, and his work has taken him to Africa, India, SE Asia, Europe and the USA. Robin regularly appears on national and local radio and television. He has been recommended in BBC Good Food magazine, Sainsbury's magazine as well as in The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph etc.

No Marketing Blurb

Describing edible and other useful plants, both native to Britain and Europe and from temperate areas around the world, this book includes those suitable for: the ornamental garden, the lawn, shady areas, ponds, walls, hedges, agroforestry and conservation. Book jacket.

Firsthand accounts of the medicinal uses of more than 400 species as told by the plain folk of Britain and Ireland. Rich in lore and practical wisdom of the ages.

The botanical history of Britain and North West Europe has a dark and a light side. Plants have been used as weapons to harm people, taken deliberately as addictive drugs and also employed as tools in witchcraft and used as magical amulets. Yet many of these same plants have been medicinally vital to numerous European communities; as the author notes, frequently the only difference between a benevolent medicine and a poison is dosage. In this book, which is richly illustrated with modern colour photographs and illustrations from herbals, Robert Bevan-Jones brings together a wealth of documentary and archaeo-botanical sources to discuss the cultural, social (and anti-social) role of the fifty most significant species of poisonous plants and fungi found in Britain, either as natives or as introductions. An introductory essay puts into context the development of British society's knowledge of toxic plants: the 'cultural botany' applied in Britain today has evolved over thousands of years, absorbing information from European texts and importing useful plants from Europe, such as the mandrake. The book's central A to Z section - from aconite to yew - then informs the reader about the history and uses of 43 species of poisonous plants, especially those that have a documented history of medicinal usage. Four important fungi species - death cap, liberty cap, fly agaric and ergot - also have separate essays. As well as the plants' histories and appearance, their chemical constituents receive coverage; these give them powerful and diverse properties, which demand our admiration and respect. The book aims to add to the knowledge offered by field identification guides, and help reduce the risk associated with accidental ingestion. Case histories are given in as much detail as possible and the information will hopefully help the reader understand the properties of plants they may encounter, either in an archaeological, botanical or horticultural context. Most of these plants can yet be found growing in woodlands, parks, botanical gardens, roadsides, waterways, churchyards and abbey sites. This is an essential book not only for botanists and historical ecologists, but also for anyone interested in the toxic plant traditions of Britain and Europe.