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x: Book Club
The Medicinal Forest Handbook (Stobart, Anne; Permanent Publications, 2020)
Reviewer: Marianne Hughes A few of us are aiming to develop a small medicinal forest garden in a corner of Figgate Park, Edinburgh and this book has been a good companion. It’s written by a medical herbalist who set up Holt Wood Herbs in Devon, in 2005. An informative and practical handbook, it includes stories of forest and medicinal herb gardens across the UK— including Poyntzfield Herb Nursery in the Black Isle. The book is divided into two parts. In Part 1 the author details how to approach designing, establishing and maintaining a forest garden. She includes tables (which sound boring, but in fact are a useful way to present a considerable amount of information) outlining soil preferences, height of growth, sun/shade/spacing, and medicinal actions. In addition to a section on how to propagate from seeds or cuttings, and how to save/store your own seeds, the author devotes a chapter to sustainable harvesting. She even gives examples of how the levels of active constituents differ according to the season, reinforcing what all herbologists know (from experience)— that labelling is very important! There are many books that can be used for practical guidance in herbal preparations, so this one may not be your go-to favourite. However, it does provide a number of recipes which explain tinctures, syrups, oxymels, fruit leathers, glycerites, capsules, hydrosols, poultices, infusions, incense sticks and balms/ointments; in this way it is comprehensive. For the reader who is interested in commercial opportunities, the author concludes Part 1 with ‘Scaling up the Harvest’, which covers all areas relevant to a business venture. In Part 2 is a directory of forty trees and shrubs. For each, Stobart includes: description of habitat; cultivation/hardiness/harvesting; pests and diseases; and seed propagation.
The therapeutic uses section outlines traditional uses, medicinal actions and uses, clinical applications and research, sample preparations and dosage, plus key constituents and safety. This section is well laid out, accessible (plenty of photographs) and informative. We learn the benefits of companion planting, for example that pairing Cherry trees (Prunus spp.) with Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) provides the shade that increases the oil content of the Lemon Balm. The information on hardiness— always useful to know —is backed up with climate maps for Europe and the USA. The author comments on the shortage of organically certified seed and locally grown nursery stock, and provides an appendix of resources. As the climate emergency develops, bringing more extreme weather, planting diversity in trees, shrubs and herbs —with differing sizes, structures and layers —helps to provide resilience for the land on which we all rely. I recommend this book is a useful resource for small, and large-scale enterprises.
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