This new book (published Nov this year it would seem) from Gabrielle Hatfield looks
to be interesting:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hatfields-H...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196808584&sr=1-1
About the author
Gabrielle Hatfield is a distinguished historian of plant medicine. She studied botany at
Cambridge, then took a PhD at Edinburgh in plant medicine. The winner of two literary
prizes (Michaelis-Jean Ratcliff prize and John Thackray Medal), she is currently a
research associate at Kew, and a member of the council of management of Ethnomedica.
Married to a GP, she has four children, several sheep, a herd of geese, a Shetland pony
and a peacock, all of whom have benefited from her herbal remedies. She lives in Norfolk.
Book Description
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. When
Charles I visited Staffordshire his chamberlain wrote to the local sheriff asking him to
ensure that no fern should be burnt or cut during the king's visit, so that the weather would
be fine. 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. Chewing bramble leaves alleviates toothache. Until
the nineteenth century the bodies of paupers and suicides were left on trestles in
churchyards between death and burial, scattered with feverfew to delay their decay. St
John's Wort was recommended as an antidepressant by St Columba in the sixth century.
Land girls working in the fields in the Second World War dosed their restless babies with
poppy tea 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.
This I did not know
to be interesting:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hatfields-H...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196808584&sr=1-1
About the author
Gabrielle Hatfield is a distinguished historian of plant medicine. She studied botany at
Cambridge, then took a PhD at Edinburgh in plant medicine. The winner of two literary
prizes (Michaelis-Jean Ratcliff prize and John Thackray Medal), she is currently a
research associate at Kew, and a member of the council of management of Ethnomedica.
Married to a GP, she has four children, several sheep, a herd of geese, a Shetland pony
and a peacock, all of whom have benefited from her herbal remedies. She lives in Norfolk.
Book Description
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. When
Charles I visited Staffordshire his chamberlain wrote to the local sheriff asking him to
ensure that no fern should be burnt or cut during the king's visit, so that the weather would
be fine. 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. Chewing bramble leaves alleviates toothache. Until
the nineteenth century the bodies of paupers and suicides were left on trestles in
churchyards between death and burial, scattered with feverfew to delay their decay. St
John's Wort was recommended as an antidepressant by St Columba in the sixth century.
Land girls working in the fields in the Second World War dosed their restless babies with
poppy tea 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.
This I did not know
