Breverton's Complete Herbal: A Book of Remarkable Plants and Their Uses

Nicholas Culpeper's The English Physitian: or an Astrologo-physical Discourse of the Vulgar Herbs of This Nation is more commonly known as Culpeper's Complete Herbal. It was first printed in September 1653 (Culpeper died in January 1654) and immediately became a classic reference that is as fascinating today as it was more than 350 years ago. Breverton's Complete Herbal is a reworking of that classic text for a modern day audience. The book identifies each of Culpeper's herbs and spices, with a description of their appearance and Latin name/family; plus descriptions of the herbs' uses in medicine, dyeing and/or cuisine from the Greeks to the present day. Informative and entertaining, and is packed with interesting facts associated with herbs. For example, most herbs have their uses attached to their old names: Lungwort cured lung illnesses, Fleabane was strewn to get rid of fleas, Wolfbane poisoned wolves, and Henbane killed chickens. Dog's Grass was chewed by dogs when they were sick, Eye-Bright cured eye illnesses, Ducks-Meat was pond-algae, Gout-Herb cured gout, Mad-Wort cured the bite of a mad dog, Heart's-Ease was for heart illness, and Rupture-Wort and Spleen-Wort helped ruptures and spleen illnesses. Arranged alphabetically, Breverton's Complete Herbal describes 250 herbs and spices while containing feature sidebars and spreads on scented herb/medicinal gardens, the great herbalists, as well as New World herbs.

Author: Terry Breverton
Publisher: Lyons Press
Published: 03/06/2012
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.44lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.60w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9780762770229


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 06/01/2012 pg. 54
Library Journal 07/01/2012 pg. 43

About the Author
Terry Breverton is a former businessman, consultant and academic and now a full-time writer. He is the author of numerous books on subjects such as the sea and pirates, and has been awarded the Welsh Books Council 'Book of the Month' award five times. Terry has presented documentaries on the Discovery Channel and the History Channel and appeared on around 20 other television programs. Terry is the author of "Breverton's Nautical Curiosities - A Book of the Sea" and "Breverton's Phantasmagoria," both published by Lyons Press.