About this item
Plants have been used to treat disease throughout human history. On a clay slab that dates back approximately five thousand years, the Sumerians recorded medicinal recipes that made use of hundreds of plants, including poppy, henbane, and mandrake. During the Middle Ages, monks commonly grew and prescribed plants such as sage, anise, and mint in their monasteries. And as the market for herbal remedies and natural medicine grows, we continue to search the globe for plants and plant compounds to combat our various ailments. In Phytomedicines, Herbal Drugs, and Poisons, Ben-Erik van Wyk offers a richly illustrated, scientific guide to medicinal and poisonous plants, including those used for their mind-altering effects. Van Wyk covers approximately 350 species - from Aloe vera and Ephedra sinica to Cannabis sativa and Coffea arabica - detailing their botanical, geographical, pharmacological, and toxicological data as well as the chemical structures of the active compounds in each.
About the Author
I am a professor of botany at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, with research interests in plant classification, medicinal plants and ethnobotany. My main job is to publish the latest botanical discoveries of our research group in scientific journals. My after-hours hobby, however, is to take photographs of plants and to write colourful botanical books - each representing the end result of a personal journey of discovery that I wish to share with fellow plant enthusiasts. The aim is to provide a conceptualization of the subject and a scientifically accurate summary of the most important facts, presented in a practical, colourful and user-friendly way.
