Scroll down this page for useful links and reading list

WEEK 1 notes 

WEEK 2 notes

WEEK 3 notes 

Additional material: hawthorn monograph and recipe.

WEEK 4 notes

Additional material: Rosehip Syrup and Crab Apple and Hedgerow Berry Jelly

WEEK 5 notes

WEEK 6 notes 

WEEK 7 notes. Try this Nettle noodle soup too!

WEEK 8 notes

WEEK 9 notes

WEEK 10 notes + Quiz + Species guide

Having difficulty downloading or opening the course notes?

Contact Anna on 07790 885969 or email mail@floramedica.org if you have any queries.

 

USEFUL WEBSITES with information, advice and suggestions to support the content of the course:

SustainCare - bringing health back home www.sustaincare.net

Plant Medicine - reliable, up-to-date information on herbal medicines and self-care at www.plant-medicine.com/index.asp

Plants for a Future - comprehensive, referenced info on plants, cultivation, uses, history at www.pfaf.org

Eat Weeds - useful info, blog, videos, recipes relating to wild foods and foraging at www.eatweeds.co.uk

SelfSufficientish - "Urban homesteading" and wild food foraging tips from Bristol brothers Andy and Dave at www.selfsufficientish.com

Purple Sage Botanicals - useful detailed herb monographs and recipes, and links to the recipe pages of the BBC television programme  "Grow your own drugs", presented by ethnobotanist James Wong (March 2009) www.purplesage.org.uk

Kew Gardens Ethnomedica Project - researching the living traditions of plant medicine in Britain www.kew.org/ethnomedica  

USEFUL BOOKS

MABEY, Richard (1972) Food for Free, Collins - a classic for foragers, but not very well illustrated for identification.. Use alongside a good field guide (see below).

PHILLIPS, Roger (1988) Wild Food, (8th edition 2007) Pan Books - fantastic, wide-ranging book, covering marine vegetables and fungi too. Lots of practical advice and recipes, both traditional and unusual.

LANSKA, Dagmar (1992) The Illustrated Guide to Edible Plants, Chancellor Press - not always accurate on the medicinal uses, but very useful - includes some recipes.

ROSE, Francis (2006) The Wild Flower Key (Revised edition) - How to Identify the Wild Plants, Trees and Shrubs of Britain & Ireland, Warne - A good illustrated guide to plants is a must for safe identification! Many others are available (e.g. Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe) - often to be found in charity shops or second-hand bookshops.

NEWTON, Anna (2009) Herbs for Home Treatment - A Guide to Using Herbs for First Aid and Common Health Problems, Green Books. One of the best, clearest and most up to date of the many "home herbals" around.

HATFIELD, Gabrielle (1999) Memory, Wisdom and Healing - The History of Domestic Plant Medicine, Sutton Publishing. Ethnobotanical exploration of Britain's plant medicine heritage - thoughtful and insightful, draws on manuscripts, letters, diaries and interviews.

BEITH, Mary (1995) Healing Threads - Traditional Medicines of the Highlands and Islands, Birlinn Ltd. Another interesting and lively read for those interested in history of plant medicine in Scotland.

FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL, Hugh (1997) A Cook on the Wild Side, Channel 4 Boxtree Books. Useful! Up to date take on some old ideas, and good ideas for variations on themes.

WONG, James (2009) Grow Your Own Drugs - from the BBC TV series in spring 2009. Loads of useful info on plants and their properties, rules on foraging/harvesting appropriately, sustainably and legally (!); and interesting, do-able recipes (though sometimes slightly more elaborate than need be).