American Household Botany: A History of Useful Plants, 1620-1900 - Hardcover

Sumner, Judith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0881926523 ISBN 13: 9780881926521

Publisher: Timber Press, 2004

Synopsis

In this fascinating book, celebrated author Judith Sumner rescues from the pages of history the practical experience and botanical wisdom of generations of Americans. Crossing the disciplines of history, ethnobotany, and horticulture --- and with a flair for the colorful anecdote --- Sumner underlines a part of the American story often ignored or forgotten: how European settlers and their descendents made use of the "strange" new plants they found, as well as the select varieties of foods and medicines they brought with them from other continents. From "turkie wheat" (corn) to "tuckahoe" (a Native American source of starch), Sumner describes the transition from wonderment to daily use, as homesteads were built upon and prospered from the plants of the New World. It is a remarkable story of the interdependence of plants and the American home. Historians, herbalists, home gardeners, and ethnobotanists will find American Household Botany a treasure trove of original research and insight.

About this title

Book Description:

In this fascinating book, celebrated author Judith Sumner rescues from the pages of history the practical experience and botanical wisdom of generations of Americans. Crossing the disciplines of history, ethnobotany, and horticulture-and with a flair for the colorful anecdote-Sumner underlines a part of the American story often ignored or forgotten: how European settlers and their descendents made use of the "strange" new plants they found. From "turkie wheat" (corn) to "tuckahoe" (a Native American source of starch), Sumner describes the transition from wonderment to daily use.

From the Author:

Judith Sumner teaches medicinal botany at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and at the Garden in the Woods, the botanic garden of the New England Wild Flower Society in Framingham, Massachusetts.

About this edition

• Publisher: Timber Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0881926523
• ISBN 13: 9780881926521
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 396