From: klier@cobra.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Herbs
Date: 20 Apr 95 18:04:18 -0500

jakiel@crl.com (Jennifer B. Jakiel) writes:
> I have a question, tho this may be the wrong group.  Does anyone
> here know anything about medicinal herbs or know of a newsgroup
> where I can ask about them?  I'm not looking for hallucinogens; I
> want genuine medicinals.

alt.[folklore].herb[al] is probably the group you want, but please be
careful of information gleaned there (or indeed anywhere on usenet!)
there's a lot of misinformation out there, so evaluate your sources
carefully.  I subscribed for awhile, but quit because I couldn't begin
to correct all the misinformation, some quite dangerous.

A very good source for legitimate information is Varro E. Tyler's
books.  Tyler is a professor of pharmacognosy and pharmacology at
Purdue, and editor of the standard text in the field.  Impressive
credentials, and interested in sharing information with the general
public.  A copy of his _The Honest Herbal_, 3rd ed. will set you back
about $20, but has references to what's in the (approx) 100 most
commonly used herbs in the US, and information about their safety and
whether they work as stated.  It includes references to the scientific
literature, but it's written in plain English.  ISBN 1 56024 287 6.
From a slightly more technical perspective, he's also written "Herbs
of Choice", and from a very lay perspective, _Hoosier Home Remedies_.
All are fascinating reading, imho.

(Tell your public library they need these books, too!)

The Rodale book on herbs is also fairly solid, but Tyler's far
surpasses it in quality.

Kay Klier   klier@cobra.uni.edu