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Abstract:
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For more than two decades Doug Elliott has wandered North America gathering roots and herbs, botanical information, and a great deal of plant lore. He has also created the extraordinary drawings that illustrate each plant in this delightful book. Elliott profiles roots, rhizomes, corms, and tubers that grow in the fields, forests, and marshlands of North America. Some of the plants he presents are edible, while others can be brewed into robust teas; some are effective as medicines, and others can be used to make natural toothpaste, shampoo, and dyes. You'll learn both the botanical and regional common names for each plant (Jack-in-the-Pulpit, for instance, is also known as Wake Robin, Priest's Pintle, Indian Turnip, Devil's Ear, and Wild Pepper); find facts that conventional field guides fail to include (like John Smith's account of Native American women using Blood Root oil to "improve their invisible charms"); and be entertained by observations from the field ("It is not uncommon to find butterflies so drunk, from sipping too freely of the American Angelica nectar, that they are completely unable to fly"). Filled with practical information and lively commentary, Wild Roots offers all nature lovers a rare discovery: the chance to explore the "other half" of the plant world that lies just beneath our feet.
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