As I have commented in previous columns, herbs are the most widely used medicines in the world.  That said, most people don’t know much about herbs, and those who want to learn about them wonder where to go for good information.

Herbal Roots

I recall my first encounter with a real herbalist in the summer of 1971. At an organic farm in the countryside of Natick, Mass.,  I chanced to arrive there just as a noted herbalist named Ben Charles Harris (author of  Eat The Weeds) was about to give an herb walk.  I had no idea what an herb walk might be, but I fell in line with a small group, and we  wandered  fields and woods as Harris described the healing benefits of common local plants I had seen my entire life. I was surprised and thrilled to discover an entire new world of knowledge. Add that to the fact that Harris was an entertaining, highly opinionated and very eccentric character, and I had a great experience.  After that remarkable afternoon, I began to purchase and read various books on herbs.

The Green Pharmacy

In my meanderings through herbal literature, I have read a great many titles.  But if I could only recommend one, it would be Dr. James Duke’s The Green Pharmacy.  Dr Duke was the USDA’s  head botanist for 30 years, and I will say that nobody knows more about medicinal plants than Duke. His folksy style and easy manner of presentation belie the fact that he is an absolute crackerjack scientist. When Duke makes a seemingly casual comment in his book, he is backed up by reams of studies and decades of hard-core scientific inquiry. For anybody who wants to dive into the deep green pool of herbal knowledge, there is simply no better title than The Green Pharmacy. And if you want to know what herbs to use for your own health needs, this is the definitive book.

Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases

For those scientists and health professionals who require greater scientific detail  in their herbal information, the same sage Duke has amassed the Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases.  This extraordinary online system enables the user (it’s free) to find out about compounds in herbs, their activity in the human body or in animal studies, and gives the study citations themselves. Anybody who wishes to go deeply into herbal science can spend several happy years poring through this vast system

HealthNotes Online

A clever guy named Skye Lininger, along with his talented staff, have put together HealthNotes Online. Google it, and you can quickly learn about which herbs to use for what health purpose, with references to scientific studies.  If you have no time to sit with a book, HealthNotes Online gives you the information you require, credibly and quickly. It’s being constantly updated.

American Botanical Council

For those who wish to stay abreast of the daily and weekly science on herbs that flows freely from hundreds of journals worldwide, there is no better organization to join than the American Botanical Council, based in Austin, Texas. Started by herbalist and forward thinker Mark Blumenthal, ABC may just be the very best source on planet Earth for herbal information. However deeply you want to go, American Botanical Council can take you there. Need to educate out-of-touch critics? Grab a stack of world-class studies from ABC. For health professionals who wish to emerge from the dark ages and enter the world of complementary medicine, a membership in ABC is de rigeur. Be there, or be square.

National Geographic is up to way more than searching for lost tribes and producing maps.  The august scientific and exploratory institution has turned out The National Geographic Desk Reference To Nature’s Medicine, by  Steven Foster and Rebecca Johnson. Clear, fascinating and chock-full of author Foster’s brilliant photographs, this book on plant medicines deserves an honored spot on every coffee table. Whatever your health needs, you’ll find answers in there. Or just flip through page after fascinating page and open up to a whole new world of knowledge.

Mark Plotkin’s Tales Of A Shaman’s Apprentice describes Plotkin’s time deep in the Amazon  rainforest with a canny and wizened native healer who imparted to him a vast body of knowledge about medicinal plants. The Harvard-educated Plotkin leads the reader into an extraordinary world of natural healing, and spins a terrific yarn in the process.  Your hair will stand on end through some of it, but Plotkin, keeps his head level. It’s a spellbinding  book.

Two of my own contributions to the literature on herbal exploration include Kava, Medicine Hunting in Paradise, and Tales from The Medicine Trail.  In the first title, I take readers through my early experiences delving into South Pacific island culture in the tiny nation of Vanuatu, hunting for kava, nature’s most effective plant for anxiety. I tell of my first encounters with natives in one of the few remaining unspoiled places on earth. In Tales From The Medicine Trail,  I detail my experiences, from the sublime to the thoroughly horrific, in India, the Amazon, the Peruvian Andes and the South Pacific. If you want to know what it’s like to investigate medicinal plants in foreign and remote places, these two books will take you there. I promise you some wild, entertaining scenes, as well as plenty of great information.

There are thousands of titles on herbal remedies. American Botanical Council has a tremendous number of excellent works for sale. So whatever your level of interest or knowledge, you can find what you seek. Be assured, there is plenty out there. The days of insufficent information or science on herbs are long, long gone. Happy reading!

Chris Kilham is a medicine hunter who researches natural remedies all over the world, from the Amazon to Siberia. He teaches ethnobotany at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is Explorer In Residence. Chris advises herbal, cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies and is a regular guest on radio and TV programs worldwide.  His field research is largely sponsored by Naturex of Avignon, France. Read more at www.MedicineHunter.com