The British Flora Medica, Or, History Of The Medicinal Plants Of Great Britain (Volume I)

By Benjamin Herbert Barton and Thomas Castle

Book Overview

Rare, vivid and practical: the nineteenth-century handbook that taught generations to read the British countryside for remedies. A field guide for herbalists. First published as an authoritative survey of Great Britain's medicinal flora, The British Flora Medica combines careful botanical observation with sober accounts of traditional plant remedies and their uses. As a Victorian botanical reference it moves fluently between natural history and medical purpose, offering clear descriptions useful to walkers, apothecaries, and students of historical herbal medicine. The writing is precise without being remote; entries make connections between morphology, habitat and reported therapeutic value, so the volume works as both a British medicinal plant guide and an herbal medicine compendium for curious readers and working herbalists. Its measured prose and methodical entries make field identification approachable while preserving the scholarly rigour of Victorian science; the book treats plants as both living subjects of study and companions in healing. More than a catalogue, it is a document of botany and pharmacology in nineteenth century Britain, tracing how native British flora were understood, collected and applied within domestic and professional practice. Accessible enough for casual readers intrigued by plant lore and countryside remedies, yet substantial enough to meet the expectations of classic literature collectors, this collectors' botanical volume rewards both paged reflection and practical field use. Scholars of historical herbal medicine gain a dependable reference; gardeners and naturalists find the close attention to habitat and seasonal habit rewarding; modern practitioners tracing traditional plant remedies may value the documented context and earlier sources. For anyone assembling a vintage botanical collection or seeking an authoritative reference on the plants of Great Britain, the volume supplies language, local perspective and historical grounding often absent from modern guides. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions. Restored for today's and future generations. More than a reprint - a collector's item and a cultural treasure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9354211917
• ISBN13: 9789354211911
• Release Date: November 2020
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 1.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"