Yeah! I just purchased my first real herb book called “The Herb Book” by John Lust. I knew it was a decent book because not only was it mentioned on herbalist Susun Weed’s site as part of her course materials, I found it mentioned by one of the magick author’s works that I am studying right now.
It has a ton of information. I have more info from other sources on some plants but this is a really good beginning and covers health, some beauty, also what is poisonous, etc. I have been looking through it and finding something “native to northeastern US” plants that I haven’t heard of and then using their Latin or scientific names to Google images so I might ID them on future walks.
This is an important step. Say I wanted to know what “American Ivy” looks like, by using that name alone I get all kinds of Ivy plant pics and not specifically the one plant I want. However, by searching “Ampelopsis quinquefolia” and I find a familliar plant. So other than mentioning and recommending the above mentioned book, I recommend using the Latin names to make sure you have the right plant.
Note: If this plant was used by Native Americans internally as a medicine, and the leaves can be used for making a black dye, did they have a black tongue after using it? Just kidding. But it was a thought that crossed my mind.
