The Essential Guide To Western Botanical Medicine

The Materia Medica

In the materia medica you will find 129 of our essential herbal allies. She includes long lists of common names from different languages to be sure you will recognize the plant no matter what common name you know it by. She also goes into detail about the Latin and common name derivation which is always interesting and helps you get to know the plant a little better. In the materia medica she shares the part of the plant used, a description of the plant, where it is found, historical uses, and constituents found in the plant. As you would expect, she give details on types of preparations used, dosage, how each plant is used  medicinally and the contraindications you might want to consider.

Christa’s descriptions of herbal use includes methods of use by the eclectic physicians, native American tribes, English herbalists, as well as other herbalists through-out time and on many continents to give you a well-rounded and interesting point of view of how these herbs have been used in the past and how they are currently being used.

The materia medica is primarily from a western point of view, but weaved within in it are bits of Chinese herbal medicine that add additional hints of what each herb has to offer.

Medicine Making

This section of the book covers water-based extracts, alcohol-based extracts, as well as glycerine and vinegar extracts, herbal honeys, syrups, as well as oils and salves. Here you will find all the basic details of making these herbal medicines.

Herbal Therapeutic Formulas

This chapter provides herbal formulas listed by organ systems, giving you a variety of different recipes for making herbal formulas for various complaints.

My Favorite Feature

I have to say my favorite feature about this book would be the beautiful color photos. The photos are what really make this book special. They are excellent depictions of each plant capturing important features of the herbs and making the pages pop in a delightful fashion. When I first opened this book, it was these gorgeous photos that compelled me to actually look further. I found the first thing I did was to turn through the pages, simply enjoying one photo after another. It was akin to looking through one of my family member's photo albums that had been created by a skilled photographer. I found myself enchanted by the beauty I found, seeing all my herbal friends and allies displayed in such exquisite detail. It is not often that I see such accuracy and professional photographs in an herb book. I could not stop looking through the book. I wanted to see each and every photo.

To Sum It Up

This is an amazing book of fun facts, eye candy, and solid information all mixed into a wonderful learning experience.

I am overjoyed that Christa created this book. I am sure other herbalists like myself have considered such a massive undertaking, but have found it a bit daunting for a variety of reasons. Christa Sanadinos has put many long hours into this book. This book has been carefully forged with a mix of beauty, charm and valuable information. This was indeed a labor of love. Some people might think twice about purchasing the book when they see the price, but to create, and print a hardcover, large book (over 7#) like this with all these amazing color photos, the book comes with a price tag that is indicative of the quality. Don’t let the price dissuade you from owning a copy. You will find it well worth investing in this treasure. It is worth your time to take a closer look at this book.

There is a lot of love in this book.

Where You Can Get This Amazing Book