Native American Ethnobotany (Daniel E. Moerman)

As many of the previous reviews said, this book is an excellent reference. It is not a field guide, nor was it meant to be: the usage information is very brief, there are no pictures, or physical descriptions of the plants -- there are other books for that. Anyhow, the other reviews pretty much covered everything accurately ... highly, highly recommended. It should also be pointed out that the information is available free online -- the author has a website called the Native American Ethnobotany Database (University Michigan Dearborn) -- http://herb.umd.umich.edu ... but the book is nice to have around, and has some information that is not on the site.

This is a big, solid hardcover volume that should be part of every library and university collection's plant and/or Native American reference sections. It is the absolute most thorough and comprehensive book on the subject, with cross-indexing and various ways to find the information you are looking for. I have an M.A. in Anthropology and am Native American myself (Ioway) and this book is an indispensable part of my personal library for both academic and personal use. It is broken down into several sections, after the preface and acknowledgements. "Plant Use by Native Americans" (pp. 11-28) gives overviews on the use of plants for drugs (medicines), foods, fibers and dyes, and other uses (hunting and fishing supplies (rods, lines, lures, traps, bows, arrows, spears, etc.), incense and fragrances, fuels, tools, and other uses. Interesting facts emerge such as more tribes used chokecherry as food (163 tribes) than corn (121 tribes), and the plant with the most medicinal uses was t... Read more

This is a great informational book. I couldn't wait to get it. The only thing lacking that would really be complete would be a pictorial key which I know is impossible for the amount of info . Everyone interested in botany, gardening or the ancient ways needs this book.

This is a bible of plant uses that goes a LONG way! It doesn't include the dichotomic keys to identify the plant, but it tell you what has been done with them for the past millenia. Highly recommended.

This is not only a great text book for the ethnobotonists, but a great resource for the avid naturalist. In depth information on many species. A must have for any botanist.