What are the amazing healing effects of trees and shrubs? How does tree bark effectively reduce inflammation? How can fruits and leaves help recovery and build resilience? Discover the therapeutic benefits of trees and shrubs, ranging from forest bathing to soothing remedies, from painkillers to stressbusters. Anne Stobart draws on her direct experience as a medical herbalist and shares how to recognise useful trees and shrubs and then harvest and create a range of herbal supplies, from fir needles to jujube fruits.
Anne includes profiles of 80 trees and shrubs suited to temperate climates with recommendations on their uses. Learn the abundant and sustainable sources of healing available from trees and shrubs and how they can be safely used within a range of settings, from gardens and food forests to woodlands and permaculture projects. Ideal for foragers, gardeners and growers, walkers and wilderness lovers, agroforesters and forest schoolers, and anyone interested in herbal medicine.
The book is laid out in two parts. Part One introduces the potential of the medicinal forest for therapeutic use, remedies for common complaints, medicines for repair and recovery from illness, and how these healing plants can be grown and used for the health of people and planet. Anne explains the importance of reconnecting with medicinal trees and shrubs through sustainable use and the benefits for environmental concerns. Part Two incorporates a directory of 80 woody species, from large trees to small shrubs, offering a range of plants for any sized growing space. Each profile comes with illustrated and accessible content on identification and habitat, medicinal parts and uses, safety advice, and suggested preparations alongside a suggested recipe for each medicinal tree or shrub.
Anne Stobart is an experienced medical herbalist, historical researcher and writer, woodland owner and herb grower. Formerly Director of Programmes for Complementary Health Sciences at Middlesex University, she is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and a founder member of the Medicinal Forest Garden Trust. She is the author of Household Medicine in Seventeenth Century England (Bloomsbury Academic) and The Medicinal Forest Garden Handbook (Permanent Publications).