Ginseng: A Concise Handbook

James A. Duke

ISBN 10: 0917256328 / ISBN 13: 9780917256325

Published by Reference Pubns, 1989

About this Item

Orange cloth. No DJ. Gilt type on spine. Withdrawn library copy with sticker on back and stamps on end pages. Internal sheets all clean and VG. 273 pages. 6.25 X 9.25 inches. Solid square binding. Overall VG except for library marks.

Seller Inventory # 1811259shelfEE-base

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Ginseng: A Concise Handbook
• Publisher: Reference Pubns
• Publication Date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0917256328
• ISBN 13: 9780917256325
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Seller catalogs:
  • medicine

About this title

Synopsis

Ginseng: A Concise Handbook provides comprehensive information on all aspects of the plant which from ancient times the Chinese have regarded as a cure for most infirmities known to man, and that was known to the Cherokees as the "Plant of Life." In this book, James Duke examines ginseng's history, taxonomy, chemistry, and pharmacology, surveys the economics of ginseng cultivation, and compares its properties with those of the humble carrot. The book also contains a chapter on Pathogens by Melodie Putnam.
Applying a healthy scientific scepticism to some of the wilder claims made for ginseng by its growers and devotees, Dr Duke throws light on exactly what is known to us today about this ancient plant. He also analyzes the intricacies of differentiating American ginseng (Panax quinequefolius) and its oriental counterpart (Panax ginseng) -- a question which has puzzled many. (The Latin name Panax derives from the Greek word "panacea.")
In this objective presentation, James Duke has rendered a service not only to those interested in examining the properties of ginseng, but to all those concerned with the intriguing relationship between the world of herbs and human health.

About the Author

James A. Duke, author of Ginseng: A Concise Handbook, is the world's foremost expert on the subject, having studied the cultivation of ginseng and its uses in North America, China, and Korea.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1929, he graduated from the University of North Carolina, and undertook post-doctoral work at Washington University and the Missouri Botanical Garden. He is currently with the Germplasm Services Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland.
His other books include Medicinal Plants of the Bible, A Culinary Herbal, and (with E.S. Ayensu as co-author), Medicinal Plants of China.
In this book James Duke reaffirms his belief that herbs hold the answer to all our medical problems. "In this regard,'he writes, "perhaps I reflect the Cherokee tear that flows in colloidal suspension in my Caucasian blood veins."
He has written and recorded a Blue Grass song about ginseng, and has personally cultivated the "Lord of the Herbs" for a number of years.