Southwest Medicinal Plants by John Slattery

Southwest Medicinal Plants by John Slattery ISBN-13: 9781604699111 Paperback: 392 pages Publisher: Timber Press Released: February 4th 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The Southwest is ripe with wild edibles, no matter the season. From deserts to grasslands, river canyons to forests, a rich harvest of tasty plants—many found only in this region—awaits the curious forager. In Southwest Medicinal Plants, herbalist, educator, and lecturer John Slattery shares his expert foraging knowledge, including traditional methods of gathering and processing. Savor fresh mulberries along the trail, or blend them with foraged nuts and seeds for snacking. Enjoy a simple but delicious sun tea made from desert willow flowers. Along the way, learn what to look for, when and where to look, and how to gather the abundant wild edibles of the Southwest responsibly.

An A-to-Z guide for foraging year-round. Detailed information for safe identification. Suggestions for sustainable harvesting. Tips on preparation and use. Thorough, comprehensive, and safe, this is a must-have for foragers, naturalists, and herbalists in Arizona, southern California, southern Colorado, southern Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, western and central Texas, and southern Utah.


My Review:
Southwest Medicinal Plants is a guide to foraging wild medicinal plants in the Southwest (Arizona, southern California, southern Colorado, southern Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, western and central Texas, and southern Utah). I spend about a month of each year in Nevada and was curious about what plants were useful for medicine. The author started by explaining how to gather the different parts of a plant for medicinal use (leaves and flowers, bark, roots, etc.), how to store them, and the different ways to use them. He talked about how to make a tincture, oil infusion, decoction, infusion, poultice, syrup, etc. I've read descriptions on how to do these things before (and done some of them), but I felt that he added useful details that I hadn't heard before and clearly explain each process.

The main part of the book was an alphabetically organized list of 112 plants found in the region. For each listing, we're given the common names, the Latin name, the parts of the plant used, a description of how to identify the plant, when and how to gather the plant, the medicinal uses of the different parts the plant, how to ensure a future harvest, any safety cautions, and details about how to use the plant (the proportions used in a tincture, etc.). For each plant, there was a picture of the plant (often including its natural habitat) and usually a picture or two of distinguishing details, like the flower or a close-up of the leaf. Overall, this is an excellent resource for anyone interested in gathering and using medicinal plants from this area. It's very informative and provided practical information.


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