Medicinal Wild Plants Of The Prairie

Kindscher documents the medicinal use of 203 native prairie plants by the Plains Indians. He also adds information on recent pharmacological findings to further illuminate the medicinal nature of these plants. He uses Indian, common, and scientific names and describes Anglo folk uses, medicinal uses, scientific research, and cultivation.

Provides information on identification and uses of edible prairie plants.

The medicinal use of 203 native prairie plants by the Plains Indians is presented. This book will increase the appreciation for prairie plants at a time when prairies need protection.

An authoritative and easy-to-use reference to the medicinal and edible properties of wild plants from throughout the upper Midwest. An essential guide for anyone interested in natural healing.

For nature lovers as well as cooks, there's plenty to whet the appetite in this unique field guide-cum-cookbook. 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. ø '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). ø 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.

An ethical field guide and recipe book that promotes respect for the natural world and for the indigenous cultures that effectively use it. Learn to feed and heal yourself with the natural plants all around you.