Thirty Plants That Can Save Your Life

Thirty Plants That Can Save Your Life introduces readers to the best plants for promoting wellness, preventing illness, and cleansing and soothing mind and body. To find the plants most widely and successfully used in traditional medicine, Schar researched herbal and medical lore from around the world. Here are backyard familiars such as burdock and dandelion, long used as vitamin-charged spring tonics that repair winter's damages. Here too are spices such as cinnamon and myrrh, whose subtle oils calm stressed-out nervous systems. And here are fascinating Oriental roots and herbs with multiple uses, from ginseng and ginger to angelica and astragalus. Schar's down-to-earth guide offers new paths to health for a generation "raised on aspirin and chewable vitamins". As practical as it is entertaining, Thirty Plants includes recipes for medicinal teas, ointments, jams, tonics, and baths; a chart outlining the best months to collect each plant; and a guide to nurseries and mail-order companies that carry healing plants and herbs.