Invasive Plant Medicine: The Ecological Benefits and Healing Abilities of Invasives by Timothy Lee Scott, Stephen Harrod Buhner (Foreword)
ISBN: 159477305X EAN: 9781594773051
Publisher: Healing Arts Press
US SRP: $22.95 US
Binding: Paperback
Copyright Date: 2010
Pub Date: September 01, 2010
Physical Info: 1.0" H x 9.0" L x 6.0" W (0.95 lbs) 384 pages
The first book to demonstrate how plants originally considered harmful to the environment actually restore Earth's ecosystems and possess powerful healing properties.
- Explains how invasive plants enhance biodiversity, purify ecosystems, and revitalize the land
- Provides a detailed look at the healing properties of 25 of the most common invasive plants
Most of the invasive plant species under attack for disruption of local ecosystems in the United States are from Asia, where they play an important role in traditional healing. In opposition to the loud chorus of those clamoring for the eradication of all these plants that, to the casual observer, appear to be a threat to native flora, Timothy Scott shows how these opportunistic plants are restoring health to Earth's ecosystems. Far less a threat to the environment than the cocktails of toxic pesticides used to control them, these invasive plants perform an essential ecological function that serves to heal both the land on which they grow and the human beings who live upon it. These plants remove toxic residues in the soil, providing detoxification properties that can help heal individuals.
Invasive Plant Medicine demonstrates how these "invasives" restore natural balance and biodiversity to the environment and examines the powerful healing properties offered by 25 of the most common invasive plants growing in North America and Europe. Each plant examined includes a detailed description of its physiological actions and uses in traditional healing practices; tips on harvesting, preparation, and dosage; contraindications; and any possible side effects. This is the first book to explore invasive plants not only for their profound medical benefits but also with a deep ecological perspective that reveals how plant intelligence allows them to flourish wherever they grow.
Timothy Lee Scott is an acupuncturist and herbalist with a master's degree in traditional Chinese medicine. He runs a private practice in Vermont and gives workshops on Chinese herbalism, native medicinal plant cultivation, and the benefits of invasive plants.
Stephen Harrod Buhner (1952-2022) was an Earth poet and the award-winning author of many books on nature, indigenous cultures, the environment, and herbal medicine. He comes from a long line of healers including Leroy Burney, Surgeon General of the United States under Eisenhower and Kennedy, and Elizabeth Lusterheide, a midwife and herbalist who worked in rural Indiana in the early nineteenth century. The greatest influence on his work, however, was his great-grandfather C.G. Harrod who primarily used botanical medicines, also in rural Indiana, when he began his work as a physician in 1911.
Stephen's work has appeared or been profiled in publications throughout North America and Europe including Common Boundary, Apotheosis, Shaman's Drum, The New York Times, CNN, and Good Morning America. www.gaianstudies.org
